The United States on Thursday confirmed it will veto any bid by the Palestinians to seek statehood recognition in the U.N. Security Council. Meanwhile, U.S. diplomats continue an effort to reconvene direct Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and avert a political showdown at the United Nations later this month. The veto threat comes as no surprise because the Obama administration has long said that a Palestinian statehood bid – without Israeli concurrence – would set back hopes for real peace. Despite the U.S. stance, the Palestinian Authority says it is determined to win an upgrade of international recognition when the new U.N. General Assembly convenes in New York in less than two weeks. In the absence of action in the Security Council due to a U.S. veto, Palestinians can ask the General Assembly to elevate their U.N. status from an observer to a ‘non-state member.’ The United States has no veto in the General Assembly and analysts say a Palestinian measure there would likely be approved by a wide majority.