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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| US consults with quartet on Mideast peace talks |
| 2010-08-12 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] The United States said it has been consulting with the diplomatic Quartet for the Middle East about how to support a return to direct Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, as U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell is expected to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley also did not rule out the possibility that the group composed of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations could issue a statement on Wednesday. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has spoken in recent days with U.N. Secretary General Ban ki-Moon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as well as Tony Blair, the special quartet representative, Crowley told reporters on Tuesday. "So we are consulting with the quartet and looking to see how we can encourage the parties to begin direct negotiations," Crowley said as Mitchell held talks in the Palestinian West Bank on Tuesday. "If a quartet statement can be helpful in encouraging the parties to move forward, obviously, I think that's something that we the United States support," Crowley said. Mitchell met Tuesday in the West Bank town of Ramallah with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in what was a "serious and positive" meeting, Crowley said. Mitchell, who arrived in Tel Aviv on Monday, would now meet with Netanyahu on Wednesday, he added. Crowley did not say why the meeting had been delayed a day. In Ramallah, Palestinian officials on Tuesday said they had made progress towards the launch of direct talks with Israel during the latest visit by Mitchell. However, they adhered to the same demands that have held up talks for months, namely a complete freeze of Israeli settlement activity and set guidelines regarding the negotiation of final borders. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Quartet What kind of Quartet is it? All male group (1st Tenor, 2nd Tenor (Lead), Baritone, and Bass)? or mixed quartets singing barbershop music? (Tenor, Lead, Baritone, Bass ) |
| Posted by: Willy 2010-08-12 22:49 |