Hollande offers to facilitate negotiations on Palestinian statehood

French President Francois Hollande called Friday for a speedy resumption of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority on a peace deal leading to a Palestinian state, dpa reported.

"We must do everything to facilitate the recognition of a Palestinian state through a process of negotiations," Hollande told a joint press conference in Paris with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

"The dialogue must resume. The sooner the better," Hollande said.

Abbas threatened to return to the United Nations General Assembly to seek non-member status for a Palestinian state if the current stasis persisted.

"We will go to the General Assembly. We tried the Security Council but we didn't obtain a sufficient number of votes. If all other attempts to resume negotiations do not succeed we will go to the General Assembly to obtain non-member status," he said.

The meeting was the first between the two since Hollande, a Socialist, succeeded Nicolas Sarkozy as president in May.

Hollande said France had good relations with both Israel and the Palestinian Authority and that he understood both sides' demand for guarantees. He cited Israel's need for guarantees on security and the Palestinians' need for assurances that the negotiations would lead to statehood.

He pledged to soon take up an invitation by Abbas to visit the Palestinian territories.

"I will go to Israel and Palestine," Hollande said.