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Mideast Quartet gathers in Egypt Moscow to host next Mideast talks
(about 2 hours later)
The Quartet of Middle East mediators is meeting in Egypt despite no sign an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal being within reach this year. The Quartet of Middle East mediators say they will hold a conference in Moscow early next year to push forward the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Israeli and Palestinian leaders are to brief envoys from the UN, the US, the EU and Russia on their progress. The statement follows a meeting of Quartet envoys from the US, the UN, the EU and Russia in Egypt.
The main players committed last year to reach agreement on key issues before US President George W Bush leaves office. They were briefed by Palestinian and Israeli leaders on the progress of their bilateral talks.
Political uncertainty in Israel and feuding among Palestinian factions has hampered efforts to negotiate a deal. Quartet envoy Tony Blair urged US President-elect Barack Obama to make the Middle East an urgent priority.
At a US-sponsored conference in Annapolis, Maryland, one year ago, Israeli and Palestinian leaders revived talks aimed at resolving the core issues dividing them including the status of Jerusalem, the borders of a future Palestinian state and the fate of Palestinian refugees. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Moscow conference - planned for the spring next year - must be a step forward in reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
'Not there yet' By then, Mr Obama will be in office and February's Israeli elections will have produced a new government.
Ahead of the meeting, in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said that she would not support "any agreement that does not serve Israel's interest and that is not detailed enough to be put into effect. 'Foundation built'
"We are not there yet and it could take time," she told Israeli radio. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon summarised the briefing the Quartet had received from Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Ms Livni has fended off comments from Israeli opposition leaders that the peace talks be put on hold until snap elections forced by the resignation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert are held in February. He said the two sides had reached agreement that there would be no peace deal until all issues between them were settled.
They also agreed on the need for negotiations to continue to reach a comprehensive two-state solution as outlined one year ago at a US-sponsored conference in Annapolis, Maryland.
Palestinian Authority President Abbas is locked in a feud with HamasPalestinian Authority President Abbas is locked in a feud with Hamas
She has succeeded Mr Olmert as head of the Kadima party and hopes to be elected prime minister. At that time, the Israelis and the Palestinians committed to reaching a peace deal by the time US President George W Bush left office in January 2009.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has also signalled that the goal of even an outline agreement on the core issues was not near. That goal is now out of reach as there has been little tangible progress in the Israeli-Palestinian talks since then.
"The distance to peace has been narrowed although peace has not been achieved," she said on Friday after meeting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday in the West Bank. The core issues dividing the two sides include the status of Jerusalem, the borders of a future Palestinian state and the fate of Palestinian refugees.
"One of the things we must do is that we must show... that Annapolis has laid the foundation for the establishment of the state of Palestine". US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she would hand over to her successor in private and then "you won't hear any more from me".
Further complicating the peace process is the feud between rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas. The Quartet's envoy, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, said it was important that the incoming Obama administration "grips this issue from day one".
He said there was now a foundation to build upon.
"It has to be built on, and it has to be built on by treating this issue as of fundamental importance, not just to this region, but to the world from the first day of the next administration."
Further hampering the peace process is the feud between rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas.
Hamas pushed President Abbas's Fatah out of the Gaza Strip last year and has now boycotted separate Egyptian-sponsored reconciliation talks that were to have begun in Cairo on Monday.Hamas pushed President Abbas's Fatah out of the Gaza Strip last year and has now boycotted separate Egyptian-sponsored reconciliation talks that were to have begun in Cairo on Monday.
Hamas officials accused Mr Abbas of arresting hundreds of its members in the Fatah-controlled West Bank.Hamas officials accused Mr Abbas of arresting hundreds of its members in the Fatah-controlled West Bank.
Mr Abbas is at Sharm el-Sheikh, but Israel, the US and the EU consider Hamas a terrorist organisation and will not meet its representatives. Israel, the US and the EU consider Hamas a terrorist organisation and will not meet its representatives.