Catalan president Carles Puigdemont said today that he has a mandate to declare independence for the north-eastern Spanish region but he is prepared to wait "a few weeks" in order to facilitate a dialogue.

Mr Puigdemont told the Catalan parliament a landslide victory in the disputed October 1 referendum on independence gave his government grounds to implement its long-held desire to break century-old ties with Spain but he is suggesting holding off.

His speech was highly critical of the Spanish government's response to the referendum but he said Catalans had nothing against Spain or Spaniards, and that they wanted to understand each other better.

At the end of his speech, Mr Puigdemont was applauded by standing separatist lawmakers.