Madrid, Spain (CNN) -- The Basque separatist group ETA's cease-fire statement is insufficient, Spain's interior minister said Monday.
Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, in the government's first major reaction, said that the statement, released to media Sunday, is "very far from the minimums" that the Spanish government has laid out for the group.
"The word 'truce' as a concept of limited peace to have a dialogue is dead. That's the past," Rubalcaba told Spanish state television TVE.
He said the government's demand remains steadfast -- that ETA agree to unconditionally lay down its arms and end the violence forever, with a process to verify that.
Rubalcaba said security forces would not let up on ETA during its unilateral cease-fire, and he said ETA called the cease-fire at a time of "extreme weakness," due to police crackdowns against the group.
CNN
