"Our position on Keystone remains the same: we believe the project should be approved. It will create jobs for American and Canadian workers, it has the support of the Canadian and American people, and the State Department itself has indicated it can be developed in an environmentally sustainable manner," said Jason MacDonald, spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

He added that the prime minister would not comment on the U.S. political process.

(Reporting by Randall Palmer and David Ljunggren; Editing by Marguerita Choy)