Middle East Quartet Voices Full Support for MidEast Talks

Diplomacy | August 20, 2010, Friday // 20:19|  views

Israeli President Shimon Peres (left) is pictured here with his Bulgarian counterpart Georgi Parvanov in Sofia, August 11, 2010. Photo by BGNES

The Middle East Quartet, made up of the United Nations, Russia, the United States, and the European Union, has expressed full commitment to the talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

"The Quartet again calls on both sides to observe calm and restraint, and to refrain from provocative actions and inflammatory rhetoric," it said.

Earlier in the day Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Israel and the Palestinian Authority have been invited to hold direct peace talks in September for the first time since 2008.

The talks, also involving other regional and international players, are intended to resolve all "final status" issues for a Middle East peace agreement, "which we believe can be done in one year," Clinton told reporters, as cited by CNN.

This news comes after months of relative lack of involvement on the American side regarding the Middle East peace process and a marked cooling toward Israel.

Just a few hours ago, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) quoted Israeli ambassador to Bulgaria Noah Gal Gendler, who considers Bulgaria "a very good place for direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations."

Last week Israeli President Shimon Peres was on an official visit to Bulgaria, during which he declared that direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations should be expected shortly, and described Bulgaria as “the most suitable” place to hold such talks.

Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov did not give a definite answer to that proposal.

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Tags: Georgi Parvanov, Mahmoud Abbas, Benjamin Netanyahu, Shimon Peres, Shimon Peres, Bulgaria, Washington, Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama, Palestine, Israel, Hamas, Gaza, Jerusalem, refugee, security

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