Brussels, 25/09/2009 (Agence Europe) - The Quartet - composed of the EU, Russia and the United States under the aegis of the United Nations - met in New York on Thursday 24 September. Carl Bildt, Swedish Foreign Minister, headed the European delegation, alongside EU High Representative Javier Solana. The Quartet affirmed that the tripartite summit, which had taken place two days earlier in the same town, represents “significant steps toward the re-launching of direct, bilateral negotiations”. It also urged Israelis and Palestinians alike to fully keep their commitments under the “roadmap”, for which the basic principles have been confirmed. The Quartet reiterates that the “only viable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an agreement that ends the occupation that began in 1967 (…) through two states for two peoples, (…) living side by side in peace and security”. All agree that it is urgent to find a solution, upheld by President Barack Obama. In the final declaration, the Quartet “urges the government of Israel to freeze all settlement activity, including natural growth and to refrain from provocative actions in East Jerusalem, and calls on the Palestinian Authority to continue to make every effort to improve law and order, to fight violent extremism and to end incitement”.
The Quartet places all efforts to re-launch talks within the framework of UN legality (even if Israel has on this occasion distanced itself from this organisation) on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions on the Arab-Israeli conflict (resolutions 242, 338, 1397, 1515 and 1850, and the principles retained at the Madrid international conference in October 1991).
With reference to the Arab Peace Initiative, the Quartet invites governments of the region to “support the resumption of bilateral negotiations, enter into a structured regional dialogue on issues of common concern, and take steps towards normalisation of relations across the region in the context of progress towards peace”. An international peace conference is to take place at the end of 2009, in Moscow. Paris had suggested hosting the conference under the “Union for the Mediterranean” label. (F.B./transl.jl)