US ambassador to UN: We support two-state solution
UNITED NATIONS : US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said the United States still supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a day after US President Donald Trump suggested he is open to new ways to achieve peace.
"The two-state solution is what we support. Anybody that wants to say the United States does not support the two-state solution - that would be an error," she said.
"We support the two-state solution but we are thinking out of the box as well - which is what does it take to bring these two sides to the table? What do we need to have them agree on?"
Her comments came after Mr Trump said on Wednesday that he was open to ideas beyond a two-state solution.
It is the long-standing bedrock of Washington and the international community's policy for a settlement between Israel and the Palestinians.
"I'm looking at two states and one state, and I like the one both parties like," Mr Trump told a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"I can live with either one."
Mr Trump said the US would work towards peace but said he was leaving it up to the parties themselves ultimately to decide on the terms of any agreement.
COMPROMISE
He said such a deal would require compromises from both Israelis and Palestinians.
His announcement appeared to loosen the main tenet of US Middle Eastern policy dating back three administrations.
It stunned the international community, which has crafted its diplomacy based on the premise of a Palestinian state co-existing alongside Israel. - REUTERS
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