BARCELONA — The leader of Catalonia said Wednesday night that he wanted a negotiated settlement to the region’s conflict with the Spanish government, but he did not offer to shelve his secessionist plan.

The leader, Carles Puigdemont, directly addressed King Felipe VI of Spain, accusing him of endorsing the “catastrophic” policies of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy instead of offering dialogue and reaching out to all his subjects.

But Mr. Puigdemont did not mention — as he had previously — plans for a unilateral declaration of independence from the rest of Spain, which would deepen an unprecedented constitutional crisis for the country.

Amid the standoff between the region of Catalonia and the central government in Madrid, Mr. Puigdemont adopted a conciliatory tone that could allow him to claim that he made every effort to negotiate an end to the dispute. But Mr. Rajoy has insisted that before any negotiations, Mr. Puigdemont will have to withdraw his independence plan and respect Spain’s constitutional unity.