U.S. President Barack Obama said Monday that if the Palestinians try to achieve statehood in the United Nations Security Council, the U.S. would oppose the proposal.

"If this came to the Security Council we would object very strongly, precisely because we think it would be counterproductive.

"We don't think that it would actually lead to the outcome that we want, which is a two-state solution," he told Spanish-language media in an interview.

Last week, the State Department said the U.S. would veto a resolution for Palestinian statehood in the council, but Obama had yet to comment directly on the matter.

"What we've said is that going to the UN is a distraction, does not solve the problem," he said. "This issue is only gonna be resolved by Israelis and Palestinians agreeing to something."

It appears likely that the Palestinians will try to push for a vote in the broader UN General Assembly when it convenes next week, where success seems more likely and the U.S. does not wield a veto as it does in the Security Council.