MADRID, April 18 (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Saturday the reason she declined a meeting with Spain's prime minister during her visit to the country was him hosting a summit of progressive leaders in Barcelona.

The refusal from Machado, a right-wing liberal, to meet with the leftist coalition government led by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez contrasts with her many encounters with the country's right-wing opposition to Sanchez.

"What has transpired in the past few hours at the meeting he held in Barcelona with various political leaders from different countries is proof that such a meeting was not advisable," Machado told an event in Madrid.