U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday refused to comment on a French plan calling for deferred action on Palestinian statehood at the United Nations while establishing a one-year timeline for peace negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

He evaded several questions about the plan before he started talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. He replied with a "no comment" when asked whether his evasion was a "no comment," according to the White House.

The Obama administration was lobbying support for its efforts to stop the bid of the Palestinians for statehood at the UN Security Council, saying that the right path to statehood lies in direct negotiations with Israel.

The U.S. has threatened to veto any move by the Palestinians at the Security Council, a step that risks infuriating the Arab world, where anti-Israel and anti-U.S. sentiment is growing following sweeping turmoil in the region.

Obama told reporters before his meeting with Sarkozy that U.S.-French partnership and their mutual leadership will be required to deal with a range of international issues that have been discussed at the UN and are going to be critical in the months and years to come, including trying to find a resolution to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict and a coordinated global strategy to deal with a economy "that is still far too fragile."

Sarkozy told reporters that paving the way to the G20 summit in Cannes in November is France's priority. "Our number-one priority -- let me make this very clear -- is to find the path to growth worldwide," he added.