"We believe such recognition is premature," William Burns, US under secretary of state for political affairs, told reporters in the Chilean capital Santiago.

"It's only through negotiation between the parties themselves, Palestinians and Israelis, that we'll be able to realize the two-state solution."

Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman, who was due to meet with Burns Saturday, criticised the remarks.

"I think it's unpropitious that once again the United States has publicly expressed an opinion about sovereign actions taken by the Argentine Republic," Timerman told Reuters.

Israel this week called the Latin American triad's recognition of a Palestinian state "highly damaging interference" by countries that were never part of the Middle East peace process.

Israel disputes the Palestinian claim to all the West Bank and East Jerusalem, land it captured from Jordan in the 1967 war and has since occupied and extensively settled.