Quartet finds slow going in Mideast peace process

WASHINGTON: The Middle East diplomatic Quartet met in Washington late Monday to discuss how to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks as officials admitted the parties remained deeply divided.

Quartet representatives UN chief Ban Ki-moon; EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton; US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, did not issue a statement about their dinner.

It was likely be one of their last meetings before the UN General Assembly in September, when Palestinians intend to push for unilateral recognition of their promised state despite US and Israeli opposition.

"We're realistic about the gaps, we know that more needs to be done, but ultimately, it's up to the parties to make the tough decisions," a senior official in President Barack Obama's administration said on condition of anonymity, adding: "We stand ready to help and facilitate."

According to the same source, Quartet members all have voiced support for the position taken by Obama, who in May urged the two parties to negotiate borders based on 1967 lines with mutually-agreed swaps.

The source added that there is an urgent need to "find a way to resume direct negotiations without delay or preconditions and to begin with a preparatory phase of talks to maximize chances of success."

Peace talks on reaching a deal ground to a halt in September 2010 when Israel failed to renew a partial freeze on settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.

Since then, the Palestinians have refused to return to talks as long as Israel builds on occupied land they want for a future state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the 1967 borders "indefensible," insisting there could not be a peace agreement unless the Palestinians first recognize Israel as the "Jewish state."

Israel also wants sovereignty over east Jerusalem, annexed after its occupation, as well as large swaths of settlements in the West Bank and a military presence in the Palestinian section of the Jordan Valley.

The Palestinians reject these conditions, and have demanded a freeze on settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

On Sunday, Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi urged the Quartet to "undertake its responsibilities seriously."

She called on the group to commit to clear guidelines and a time frame for any new talks, and to "effectively bring Israel to compliance, including a cessation of all settlement activities."

But the US official said the Quartet needed to "do more work privately, quietly with the parties, in order to see if we can't close these gaps.

"And then, if we're successful in doing that, there'll be a time in which incorporating our progress and commenting on it publicly can help capture that. But we still need to do more work."

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011