Barcelona (CNN) 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.

Carles Puigdemont, the Catalan President, declared that the region had "earned the right" to independence from Madrid. But he told the Catalan parliament in Barcelona that he wanted to take the heat out of the political standoff that has roiled Spain since a disputed referendum on October 1.

"With the result of the referendum on the first of October, Catalonia has earned the right to be an independent state. It has earned the right to be heard and respected," Puigdemont told deputies in the Catalan parliament.

"I defend the mandate of the people of Catalonia to become an independent republic," he said, to applause from the chamber.

But he added that parliament should suspend a formal declaration in order to pursue dialogue. He did not specify what form the talks would take, or who would mediate them. Puigdemont and other deputies then signed what amounted to a symbolic declaration of independence.

Pro-independence supporters watch Catalan President Carles Puigdemont's speech on a big screen in Barcelona.

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