Mid-East Quartet may meet in Moscow in February

At a meeting in Sochi with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said there is no sign of a breakthrough in the deadlocked Middle East peace process.

Summing up the meeting, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia supports Palestinians in their pursuit of an independent state.

“We will work together with the other members of the international community so that the talks between Palestine and Israel can resume as soon as possible. The bottom line is that the settlement should be a comprehensive one, and should engage Syria and Lebanon, too,” Lavrov added.

Russia proposes to hold a meeting of the Middle-Eastern quartet – the European Union and the United Nations, along with Russia and the US.

Lavrov also said that Abbas welcomed the idea of the Mid-East Quartet meeting in Moscow.

This means that the meeting will be conducted as soon as the dialogue between Israel and Palestine is restarted, which may happen as early as February.