BEIJING, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of the Quartet on the Middle East which groups the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia met in Moscow on Friday in an effort to revive stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
The group, as a mediator of the peace process in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, was established in Madrid in April 2002 as a result of escalating violence in the region.
In June 2002, then U.S. President George W. Bush announced a new peace plan for the Middle East. It was on that basis that the next month the Mideast Quartet outlined the principles of a roadmap for peace, including the creation of an independent Palestinian state by 2005, at a high-level meeting in New York.
The roadmap was formally released in April 2003, but because of incessant conflicts, neither party has fulfilled its obligations under the peace plan.
In November 2007, out of joint efforts of the Mideast Quartet, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas met at a Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland, marking the restart of their severed peace dialogue.
But direct talks between the two sides were broken by a massive Israeli military strike against the Gaza Strip at the end of 2008.
Although the international community, including the Quartet, has been urging the two parties to resume peace talks, major differences on the issues of east Jerusalem and Jewish settlements have been blocking any prospects.
