Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said that if elected, he will keep the US embassy in Israel in Jerusalem, AP reported.

According to him, he will reopen the US consulate in East Jerusalem to attract Palestinian leaders to two-state negotiations, which has long been the US official position on Israel and the Palestinians.

“I’ve been a proud supporter of a secure, democratic Jewish state of Israel my entire life,” Biden said Tuesday. But, he added: “My administration will urge both sides to take steps to keep the prospect of a two-state solution alive.”

“Moving the embassy when we did without the conditions having been met was short-sighted and frivolous,” the former vice president said. “It should have happened in the context of a larger deal to help us achieve important concessions for peace in the process.”