FORT DRUM, New York (Reuters) - The White House on Thursday said debt talks between Vice President Joe Biden and lawmakers had gone into "abeyance", but the search for a compromise to cut the U.S. deficit would continue.

"These talks are in abeyance. But we expect going forward that we will continue to address these issues in search of a compromise," said White House press secretary Jay Carney.

Biden-led bipartisan talks among lawmakers stalled earlier on Thursday after the two Republicans on the panel walked out in protest over tax hikes wanted by Democrats.

"It has always been the case that these talks would proceed to a point where the remaining areas of disagreement would be addressed by leaders and the president," Carney told reporters traveling with President Barack Obama.

The administration argues that curbing the U.S. budget deficit demands steps to raise revenue as well as cutting spending, and this was still the case.

"We need to seriously cut spending ... and the deficit. But we need to do it on a balanced way, and that means everything has got to be on the table. Spending cuts in nondefense discretionary spending, cuts in defense spending, and cuts in our tax expenditures," Carney said.

(Reporting by Laura MacInnis; writing by Tabassum Zakaria and Alister Bull, Editing by Sandra Maler)