Europe

British, Scottish leaders to meet amid independence dispute

Associated Press
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Britain's Prime Minister, Theresa May, gives a speech at the Department for International Development's office at Abercrombie House in East Kilbride Scotland Monday March 27, 2017. May will later meet Scotland's leader Nicola Sturgeon for the first time since they faced off in a struggle over a new push for Scottish independence as the U.K. leaves the European Union. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP) (The Associated Press)

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May gives a speech at the Department for International Development's office at Abercrombie House in East Kilbride Scotland Monday March 27, 2017. May will later meet Scotland's leader Nicola Sturgeon for the first time since they faced off in a struggle over a new push for Scottish independence as the U.K. leaves the European Union. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP) (The Associated Press)

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, right, and Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon sit during their meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, Monday March 27, 2017. May met with Scotland's leader Monday for the first time since they faced off in a struggle over a new push for Scottish independence as the U.K. leaves the European Union. (Russell Cheyne/ PA via AP) (The Associated Press)

British Prime Minister Theresa May is meeting Scotland's leader for the first time since they faced off in a struggle over a new push for Scottish independence as the U.K. leaves the European Union.

May is due to meet First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, days after Sturgeon demanded a referendum on Scottish independence to be held within two years. May has rejected that timetable.

May is due to give a speech Monday promising stronger powers for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and saying she will never allow "our union to become looser and weaker, or our people to drift apart."

May is touring the U.K. before triggering the EU exit process. On Wednesday, she will invoke Article 50 of the EU's key treaty, starting a two-year countdown to Brexit.