Secretary of State John Kerry advised Egyptian and Palestinian diplomats on how to write a resolution condemning Israeli settlement construction that would avoid an American veto, but he did not “orchestrate” the international rebuke, according to a spokesman.

“Of course, there has been for some time in the fall, talk about this resolution or that resolution with regard to Middle East peace and the Israeli-Palestinian issue,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters. “Of course, in the course of those conversations, we’re always making clear what our parameters are, what our beliefs are, what we need to see in order to even consider a resolution. That’s part of the give and take of the U.N.”