Reuters
Major Powers Wring Hands Discreetly on Middle East
Date: Wed, Sep 22, 2004
By Paul Taylor
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The world's major powers wrung their hands discreetly on Wednesday at the lack of progress toward peace in the Middle East, chiding Israel and the Palestinians in equal measure but offering no new ideas.
A statement issued after the Quartet of the United States, Russia, the European Union (news - web sites) and the United Nations (news - web sites) met at ministerial level for only the second time this year acknowledged that "no significant progress has been achieved on the road map" -- their joint peace plan.
Backing a plea issued by President Bush (news - web sites) at the United Nations on Tuesday, the four big diplomatic players urged Israel to impose a freeze on Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza.
"The lack of action in this regard is a cause for concern," the statement said.
The group also urged the Palestinian Authority (news - web sites) to undertake long-delayed security reforms so it can fulfill its obligations under the peace plan to bring "an unequivocal end to violence and terrorism."
As if to underscore the absence of movement or new initiatives, none of the participants spoke to reporters after the meeting hosted by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites), in contrast to past joint news conferences.
The statement voiced renewed concern about the routing of Israel's security barrier, noting an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice in July, which declared those parts built on Palestinian land to be illegal.
'END OCCUPATION'
The group expressed encouragement for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites)'s plan to withdraw from all Gaza settlements and parts of the West Bank, but stressed this must be consistent with the road map "as a step toward an end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967."
Sharon declared this month that Israel was not following the "road map," apparently irking Washington.
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said after meeting Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) on Tuesday, "He mentioned that the road map didn't die."
Shalom told reporters on Wednesday that Israel had resorted to the unilateral withdrawal plan because the Palestinians had failed to meet their obligation under the road map to destroy what he called the infrastructure of terrorism.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told Reuters it was important that the Quartet had reaffirmed the demand for a settlement freeze and for changes to the Israeli security barrier, since both issues had caused problems between Europe and the United States in recent months.
"This is not a moment to have an initiative, when the capacity for action of the United States is limited," Solana said, referring to the U.S. presidential election campaign, which has made Washington more reluctant than ever to exert pressure on Israel.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath expressed disappointment that the Quartet had failed to produce an action plan to kick-start peace efforts, starting with a simultaneous cease-fire.
But he added: "We cannot give up the Quartet. We have nothing better to replace it with and we need an international mechanism that continues to work for peace in the Middle East."
SOURCE
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