Brussels, 20/02/2007 (Agence Europe) - The Middle East Quartet (United Nations, EU, US and Russia) will be meeting on Wednesday 21 February in Berlin to debate the relaunch of the road map, following the power sharing agreement between Fatah and Hamas. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, German Minister for Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier (acting president of the Council of the EU), High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, and European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner will be taking part in the meeting.
Monday's meeting between Condoleezza Rice, Israeli Prime Minister Ehoud Olmert and President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas did not make any notable progress. Abbas and Olmert simply agreed to meet up again soon. In Jerusalem all three of them reaffirmed their commitment to a two state solution, the renunciation of violence and respect for the previous international agreements. Washington and the Europeans have still not commented on the future government of national unity, while waiting to see if Hamas respects, in deeds, the three Quartet imposed conditions for resuming cooperation and financial aid. On Tuesday Mr Abbas began a visit to Jordan and Europe, during which he will visit the United Kingdom, followed by France and then Germany, to present the power sharing agreement between his party, Fatah, and that of the prime minister, Ismael Haniyeh. Hamas made a commitment in Mecca to “respect” the agreements previously concluded with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). In the conclusions adopted on 12 February, foreign affairs ministers underlined that “the European Union is prepared to work with a legitimate Palestinian government that adopts a programme reflecting the principles of the Quartet” (EUROPE 9364). (ab)