Rajoy remains under pressure after Thursday's vote made it clear that there is no easy way out of Spain's worst political crisis in decades. The former Catalan President said he was seeking an "unconditional" meeting with Rajoy in Europe but not in Spain. Rajoy: 'Deep' social fractureThe election results show that the region in northeastern Spain is deeply divided, Rajoy told a news conference in Madrid, and will take time to heal. Rajoy said the results showed a decline in support for pro-independence parties since 2010, although "not as much as we wanted." The Spanish Supreme Court has said it is widening the scope of its investigation into leaders of the Catalan independence movement.

Source: CNN December 22, 2017 12:38 UTC