The world hammered home a unified message Wednesday to Israel's newly-minted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, insisting that he pursue the "two-state solution" as part of his stated commitment to the Middle East peace process.

From the United Nations to London, from Washington to Brussels, to Israel's own President Shimon Peres, the congratulatory statements were laced with the same message: the road map to peace must lead to a separate state for the Palestinians alongside Israel.

In Jerusalem, neither Netanyahu nor his new Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman mentioned two states as an end goal of peace. Lieberman said there would be no "concessions," but rather Israel would be guided by the phrase: "Si vis pacem, para bellum. If you want peace, prepare for war, be strong."

In Brussels, Quartet envoy Tony Blair said there was no alternative to a two-state solution "except the one-state solution. And if there is a one-state solution, there's going to be a big fight."

While he was willing to wait until the Netanyahu government "settles in," Blair added that "if there is no significant progress in 2009, we face a situation of great jeopardy for the peace process."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in London for the world summit on the financial crisis, reminded Netanyahu of the aim of "achieving an independent and viable Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace with a secure Israel."

Also in London, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she hoped Netanyahu would "manage to achieve decisive progress towards a two- state solution." Her deputy spokesman Thomas Steg was blunter, saying Germany saw "no alternative" to this.

In Washington, the State Department assured Israel that the United States is "unalterably committed" to its security.

But spokesman Gordon Duguid, while not criticizing Netanyahu, repeated the phrase "two-state solution" at least five times in his briefing to reporters, saying: "The Obama administration is committed to seeking a two-state solution for the resolution between differences between Israel and the Palestinians."

US President Barack Obama called Netanyahu to congratulate him and reassure him of US support, but did not appear to bring up the two- state goal, according to White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.

On Tuesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the Netanyahu government "should accept the two-state solution so that we can resume talks with it." Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat expressed disappointment, saying Netanyahu "made only vague commitments to continuing negotiations. He offered nothing new."

The Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Mussa told dpa, the German news agency, that there was "hardly an Arab-Israeli peace process left anymore" and that the Arabs were losing patience.

In Jerusalem on Wednesday, Lieberman signalled that Israel was not bound by the internationally endorsed 2007 Annapolis peace conference, but rather would stick to the 2003 "road map" of the quartet of the US, EU, Russia and United Nations.

While both approaches call for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, neither Netanyahu or Lieberman mentioned that end goal in their speeches.

After Netanyahu was sworn in, Israeli President Shimon Peres urged the Netanyahu government to adopt "the vision of two states for two peoples." (dpa)