UN chief: Quartet of key Mideast peacemakers to meet in Italy later this month

September 25th, 2009 Arabs urge Obama to present peace outlineUNITED NATIONS — The head of the Arab League and the Egyptian foreign minister on Friday urged President Barack Obama to present his own outline of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, in order to break the current logjam and spur negotiations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas remain far apart on what it takes to return to peace talks, despite vigorous U.S.

September 24th, 2009 Mideast negotiators lauds Obama's initiativeUNITED NATIONS — The Quartet of Mideast peacemakers says President Barack Obama's meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas represents an important step toward the resumption of peace talks. The Quartet — comprising the U.S., U.N., European Union and Russia — said it shared the sense of urgency expressed by Obama regarding the comprehensive resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

September 18th, 2009 US envoy in new try to revive Mideast peace talksJERUSALEM — The U.S. Mideast envoy is pressing on with efforts to revive Mideast peace talks and extract Israeli concessions on settlements.

September 2nd, 2009 Obama envoy to resume talks in Mideast next weekWASHINGTON — The State Department says former Sen. George Mitchell, who is the Obama administration's special envoy for Mideast peace, will return to the region next week for another round of talks aimed at setting the stage for a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

August 18th, 2009 Obama to meet with Egyptian president TuesdayWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's focus turns to Mideast matters Tuesday when he sits down with his Egyptian counterpart at the White House. The meeting comes after President Hosni Mubarak's discussions with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday about the stalled Mideast peace talks.

June 28th, 2009 JERUSALEM - Responding to international demands that Israel freeze construction in the West Bank, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's media advisor said Israel would do so. "The government of Israel has already articulated that we will not build new settlements, nor will we expropriate further land for the purpose of settlement building," the Jerusalem Post quoted Mark Regev, as saying.

June 27th, 2009 Israel deflects calls for settlement freezeJERUSALEM — Israel deflected growing international demands for a settlement freeze Saturday, saying the issue should be dealt with in future peace talks with the Palestinians. On Friday, the Quartet of Mideast mediators and foreign ministers from the Group of Eight industrialized nations, meeting in Italy, called for a halt in construction.

June 26th, 2009 Mideast Quartet urges Israel to halt settlementsTRIESTE, Italy — The Quartet of Mideast negotiators has called on Israel to freeze all settlement activity and to lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip. The Quartet — the United States, Russia, United Nations and European Union — met Friday on the sidelines of a meeting of the Group of Eight foreign ministers, who made a similar call for Mideast peace.

June 26th, 2009 G-8 to Israel: end settlements, open bordersTRIESTE, Italy — A broad international coalition urged Israel on Friday to freeze all settlement activity in the West Bank and lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip, backing U.S. President Barack Obama's Mideast policy.

June 26th, 2009 G8 meeting at work on shared document on IranTRIESTE, Italy — Foreign ministers from Group of Eight countries meeting in Italy were working to smooth over differences and hammer out a joint document Friday addressing Iran's violent crackdown on protesters. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the group was working on a document.

June 26th, 2009 G8 countries urge 'democratic dialogue' in IranTRIESTE, Italy — Italian news reports say that foreign ministers from Group of Eight countries meeting in Italy have expressed worry over Iran's post-election situation and called for "democratic dialogue." The officials gathering in Trieste have been working to smooth over differences and hammer out a joint document Friday addressing Iran's violent crackdown on protesters following disputed elections. The ANSA news agency said the final document would say that the Iranian crisis must be resolved through peaceful means and democratic dialogue.

June 26th, 2009 TRIESTE - The only way to solve the Israel-Palestine conflict is to help ordinary Palestinians rebuild their economy, especially in Gaza, UN Middle East quartet's special envoy to the region Tony Blair said Friday. "We are all worried that we support Gaza and then there's a further outbreak of conflict, but the best way of preventing that ...

May 11th, 2009 UN Security Council calls for a Palestinian stateUNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council sent a strong message to Israel on Monday that the international community is demanding "urgent efforts" to create a separate Palestinian state and achieve an overall Mideast peace settlement.

May 6th, 2009 Blair: Quartet to unveil Mideast plan in 5-6 weeksJERUSALEM — The U.S.-led Quartet of Mideast mediators is working on a new strategy for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and is expected to present it in five to six weeks, said Quartet envoy Tony Blair. The plan is being devised by the Obama administration, with input from others, Blair told Palestinian reporters.

January 30th, 2009 LONDON - Former British prime minister and current international Quartet envoy to the Middle East Tony Blair has said in a newspaper interview published Saturday that the Palestinian militant movement Hamas must be brought into the peace process. Blair, in an interview with The Times, said that the previous policy pursued by the Quartet - the UN, US, Russia and the EU - of isolating Hamas and concentrating peace and reconciliation efforts on the West Bank 'was never going to work and will never work'.