Islamic Republic's foreign ministry says Quartet talks in Egypt prove US plan for peace has broken down.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFRice quartet sharm 248 88 ap(photo credit: AP)
The Middle East Quartet meeting this weekend in Egypt proved that the US initiative for peace in the region has failed, the Iranian foreign ministry said Monday.
After Sunday's gathering in Sharm e-Sheikh, both Israel and the Palestinians pledged to continue the peace process that US President George W. Bush launched last November in Annapolis although the year-end target set in Maryland for a deal likely won't be achieved.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hasan Qashqavi said the meeting spelled the "failure of Annapolis" and was just another in 19 Mideast trips by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Iran opposes the US-backed Israeli-Palestinian talks and supports Hamas rather than Fatah, which is talking to Israel.
On Sunday, the Quartet called these ongoing Israeli-Palestinian negotiations "irreversible," and said it would allow the bilateral talks to continue without international intervention or a deadline.
The move by the Quartet - the US, Russia, EU and the UN - came in response to a request from both Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
After the meeting, the Quartet said in a statement it "underlined its commitment to the irreversibility of the bilateral negotiations."
It also promised to respect the bilateral and confidential nature of the talks and called on all states to adhere to those same principles.
After listening to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni describe their work, including the creation of 10 joint committees, the Quartet said the negotiations were "substantial and promising."
Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.
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