The Spanish government rejected what it called a "tacit" declaration of independence by Catalonia on Tuesday evening after Catalan President Carles Puigdemont said the region had won a mandate to declare its independence from Spain, but would first seek talks with Madrid.

"It's unacceptable to make a tacit declaration of independence to then suspend it in an explicit manner," a central government spokesperson told reporters in Madrid.

Earlier it was reported that the leader of Catalonia postponed a formal declaration of independence from Spain on Tuesday, stepping back from the brink of a constitutional crisis that has engulfed one of Europe's richest nations.