Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says unilateral action isn't a substitute for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on a two-state solution.

Clinton says talks are the "only route" for a peace settlement. And she says prospects have improved with the emergence of a new Israeli coalition government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (neh-ten-YAH'-hoo).

Clinton spoke Thursday in Denmark a day after Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak (EH'-hud bah-RAHK') said Israel cannot wait forever to reach accord. Barak said if a deal proves impossible, the Jewish state could consider a "provisional arrangement or even unilateral action."

But Clinton argues that Israel and the Palestinians now have a "new opening" for progress.

And she praises Israel's decision to return the bodies of 91 militants, including suicide bombers, as a confidence-building measure.