Middle East quartet must bring settlement process back into "road map" channel

The Quartet of the international mediators in Middle East settlement (Russia, the USA, the EU and the UN) must display activity in order to bring the peace process back into the "road map" channel.

Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov made this statement in New York on the threshold of a meeting of the Quarter at the ministerial level slated to be held in the USA this week.

"If the members of the quartet do not display proper activity and drive, a settlement will not come by itself," Ivanov said.

According to him, possible moves both on the bilateral and multilateral levels will be considered at the forthcoming meeting with a view to returning to the settlement process.

As Ivanov noted, the current situation in Palestinian-Israeli relations will be discussed at the meeting. "This situation can satisfy nobody because the implementation of the 'road map' has now been, in effect, halted, and escalation of tension is being observed again," the Minister said. In his opinion, "all this can lead only to further aggravation both in Palestinian-Israeli relations and in the region as a whole."