The prime minister said he was open to meeting with Boris Johnson’s successor. She argued that the “principle” of independence will remain the same, but that there could be some room for “compromise”.
The Conservative Party is currently in the process of electing a new leader – the victor will also become the UK’s next Prime Minister.
Johnson earlier this year urged the SNP to “respect” the outcome of the 2014 independence referendum.
It is unlikely that any of the Tory leadership candidates will take a different approach to this issue.
But Ms Sturgeon has stressed that she would be happy to discuss the route to a second vote with the next prime minister.
She, quoted in the Herald, said: “Basically, yes – in terms of details, I am open to negotiation.
“And in any negotiation you have to be willing to make compromises.
“What I don’t compromise on is the principle.”
The Holyrood leader added that she was unwilling to “keep hitting my head off a wall” by asking Whitehall for a referendum.
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When she set out her plans for a second referendum late last month, she denounced British ministers for having “caused the worst cost of living crisis in the G7 and left us with the second lowest growth rate in the G20”.
It was “not enough,” she added, to simply mitigate these issues.
In a policy note released today – the second in a new series on Scottish independence – Ms Sturgeon argued that “in an independent Scotland we can forge a better relationship – an equal partnership – with the rest of the UK, rather than the government of the UK to assert ‘Westminster sovereignty’ irrespective of the views of the Scottish Parliament or the people of Scotland”.
The newspaper itself referred to the SNP’s dissatisfaction with Brexit, arguing that the EU referendum “has brought to the surface the contradictions in the decentralized regime”.
It added: “Much has been achieved by Scotland with its limited powers of devolution. But in recent years, the fragility of those powers and the increasing breaches of devolved responsibilities by Westminster have become apparent…
“In the Scottish Government’s view, it is clear that the current British constitutional system will not – and cannot – be reformed to provide guaranteed guarantees for decentralized institutions and self-government in Scotland.”