US president Barack Obama said today he wanted to see "serious, constructive" peace talks aimed at finding a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
Mr Obama, who sees Israeli-Palestinian progress as crucial to repairing the US image in the Muslim world, was speaking two days after giving a speech in Cairo in which he called for a "new beginning" between Muslims and the United States.
On the final leg of a brief tour of the Middle East and Europe, Mr Obama was asked to clarify what he meant the previous day in Germany when he said he was confident progress could be made between the Palestinians and Israel this year.
"Progress would mean the parties involved ... are in serious, constructive negotiations towards a two-state solution," Mr Obama told reporters after a meeting with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy in Normandy ahead of a ceremony to mark the 65th anniversary of the World War Two D-Day landings.
"I do not expect that a 60-year problem is solved overnight but, as I have said before, I do expect both sides to recognise that their fates are tied together," he added.
Mr Obama has called for a freeze in settlements and pressed for a two-state solution, both of which Netanyahu has resisted.
But Mr Obama also said that, while the media had made much of his comments on settlements, he also wanted the Palestinians to renounce "violence and incitement".
"We have to move beyond the current stalemate," he said.
Mr Obama also said he would be reviewing his policy on North Korea, which tested a nuclear weapon last month, prompting the UN Security Council to move towards imposing further sanctions on the reclusive Communist state.
North Korea has pulled out of six-party talks on its nuclear programme.
"We are going to take a very hard look at how we move forward on these issues," Mr Obama said.
"I don't think that there should be an assumption that we will simply continue down a path in which North Korea is constantly destabilising the region and we just react in the same ways ... We are not intending to continue a policy of rewarding provocation."
Mr Obama and Mr Sarkozy also mentioned the diplomatic standoff over Iran's nuclear programme, on which Mr Obama said he was prepared to hold talks "without preconditions".
Mr Sarkozy said Iran, which holds a presidential election on Friday, should seize the opportunity for dialogue.
Reuters