The Spanish government is considering a request by the Chilean authorities for bilateral arbitration, through the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which could lead to the release of former Gen Augusto Pinochet. He has been held under house arrest in London for the past 10 months.
However, following the refusal of the opposition Socialist Party to back such a move, which would probably require an act of parliament, the government is likely to revert to its original position - that the Pinochet case is exclusively a matter for the judiciary.
Extradition is an area where the frontier between political and judicial decisions is blurred. Gen Pinochet's arrest in Britain was on foot of a warrant from a Spanish judge, but it required - and got - the approval of the Spanish government.
The arrest warrant, to answer charges of kidnap, torture and murder against over 100 Spanish citizens living in Chile during the dictatorship, was issued by the high-profile Judge Baltasar Garzon. It put the governments of Britain and Spain in an embarrassing situation.
The centre-right government of Spain has been trying hard to prove its centrist credentials and siding with a right-wing regime in Chile would not be helpful. There are also embarrassing similarities between events in Spain during the Franco dictatorship and those in Chile during the Pinochet regime which the Spanish authorities would prefer not to have raked up.
But the Prime Minister, Mr Jose Maria Aznar, made the best of a bad job: "The Spanish government is not involved in this decision; we will respect the actions and decisions of the judicial authorities."
Now, after many months of behind the scenes activity, the Spanish government has agreed to consider the arbitration request from Chile. The Chileans want The Hague court to rule whether Gen Pinochet should be allowed to return to Santiago.
Last Friday, Mr Abel Matutes, the Foreign Minister, held a meeting with Mr Joaquin Almunia, the leader of the opposition, to discuss the affair. Mr Almunia said that it is the responsibility of the Spanish judiciary to resolve the Pinochet question and that the socialists would oppose any move towards arbitration if it came before the parliament.
By yesterday the government appeared to be backpedalling, saying that its position had not changed and that it still believes it is a matter for the courts.
Mr Joaquin Perez Villanueva, director of the Office of Diplomatic Information, told a Madrid radio station: "The executive continues doing what it has always done - that is to say practically nothing."