US insists on Palestinian statehood through negotiations

WASHINGTON - The United States insisted Tuesday that a Palestinian state should be created through negotiations with Israel based on a two-state solution.

State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki reiterated long- held US position as the British parliament passed a non-binding resolution on Monday offering diplomatic recognition to Palestinian statehood, as Sweden did early this month.

"We understand that this vote was primarily symbolic and that the government's position, I should say, on this issue has not changed," she told reporters at a daily news briefing.

"We believe it's premature, while we still support the Palestinian statehood, we believe that process needs to be reached through a two-state solution," she added.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, while attending an international conference on Gaza rebuilding in Cairo on Sunday, called for a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

The top American envoy brought the two sides together for renewed talks in late July last year, but the negotiations broke down in April.