At Sharm e-Sheikh meeting, Quartet says it will support peace process but won't intervene.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFquartet sharm 248.88(photo credit: AP)
Calling the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian negotiations "irreversible," the Middle East Quartet, meeting Sunday in Sharm e-Sheikh, 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 PA 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."
It called on governments and international organizations to continue to help develop the Palestinian economy and to contribute to institution building programs that would prepare the Palestinians for statehood.
The Quartet also said it wanted to hold a follow-up meeting in Russia in the spring.
After leaving Sinai, Livni told the media the Quartet's approval of the requests showed that Israel could achieve the goals it had set for itself in the international arena.
"It was a complete victory," her spokesman told The Jerusalem Post. "Israel got everything that it wanted."
"The two sides, more than anyone else, understand the urgency of a deal, but they also know more than anyone else what they can live with and what they can't, what is appropriate and at what time it should be executed," Livni said.
Her speech, along with that of Abbas, marked the first time the pair had addressed the Quartet since the Annapolis Conference in November 2007.
Although the process initiated at that conference failed to meet its stated goal of a final-status agreement by the end of 2008, both Abbas and Livni said it was important to continue bilateral talks based on those principles.
In the past year, after many meetings, progress had been achieved, they said, although they did not provide details.
Livni and Abbas said that all the core issues were on the table and that they were holding fast to their all-or-nothing approach.
"Nothing would be considered agreed until everything is agreed," both leaders told the Quartet, which also means that details would not be revealed until a deal was done.
What was significant was that both the Israelis and the Palestinians were "on the same side of this matter," believing that a final-status agreement is vital to both peoples, Livni said.
It was important that this process led to a Palestinian state, but not a "terror- state," she added.
The Quartet had promised that no new state would be created unless it was free of that threat, she said.
"We support political and economic aid to a Palestinian leadership that recognizes Israel, respects its agreements with it and fights terrorism," Livni said. "We expect the international community to support us in preventing extremism and terrorism."
Quartet representatives echoed their support for the process in a press conference following their meeting, during which Abbas and Livni stood together at the podium.
"I believe that the Annapolis process is now the international community's answer and the parties' answer to how we finally end the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis," said US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who spent three days in the region meeting with both sides.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, "Our common desire is to make sure the Annapolis process succeeds."
Quartet envoy Tony Blair urged US President-elect Barack Obama to carry on with the process, despite signs that some members of the new president's team may want to try a different approach to Mideast peacemaking.
"The single most important thing is that the new administration in the United States grips this issue from day one - and it can do so knowing that there is a foundation upon which we can build," Blair said.
She said that if mediators saw Israel was serious about an agreement with the Palestinians, they would not pressure the Jewish state about deadlines or the specifics of the negotiations right now.
Earlier, Livni told Army Radio that her goal at the meeting was to keep the pressure off Israel as elections approach.
For the Quartet, the fear is not about the continued talks between Abbas and Livni, but the prospect that due to February's elections in Israel and continuing political turmoil among the Palestinians, both leaders could be replaced in 2009.
Likud party leader Binyamin Netanyahu, who, according to the polls is most likely to succeed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, has already said he is not bound by the talks under the Annapolis process, although he is interested in negotiating a peace deal with the Palestinians.
Livni also held meetings in Sharm with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the Jordanian and Egyptian foreign ministers, and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov.
In speaking with Lavrov, Livni took issue with Russia's continued ties to Iran and its plans to sell "defensive weapons" to Syria. These weapons would give Syria a sense of security that should be avoided, she said.
She also spoke with him about the need to strictly enforce the weapons embargo against Hizbullah.
AP contributed to this report.
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