Barcelona, Spain (CNN) The Catalan leader's high-wire bid for independence from Spain faltered on Thursday when he backed away from a plan to call new elections amid disagreement within his own party.

Catalan President Carles Puigdemont said he had considered the option of dissolving the regional Parliament and calling new elections, in what appeared to be a last-ditch effort to stop Madrid from taking control of the region.

But in a public statement in Barcelona, the regional capital, Puigdemont rejected the idea, apparently because he could not obtain guarantees from the central government that it would not press ahead with a plan to impose direct rule on the region.

"My obligation and responsibility is to explore all the possibilities, absolutely all of them, to find a solution through dialogue, an agreed solution, to a political conflict that is of a democratic nature," he said.

Catalan President Carles Puigdemont making his statement on Thursday in Barcelona.

At a heated meeting of the Catalan Parliament on Thursday evening, MPs struggled to find a way forward.

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