New York (dpa) - The four parties responsible for the so-called ''roadmap,'' the peace plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, will hold a meeting in January, a European Union official said Friday in New York.
Javier Solana, secretary-general for the Council of the E.U., said the meeting, with the date and venue still unspecified, will make another push to advance the roadmap.
''Events have taken place in the Middle East,'' Solana told reporters following a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
''We think there is a need for contact between the two sides as soon as possible,'' he said.
Solana said negotiations for a cease-fire between Israelis and Palestinians were still underway and there was a possibility that they could reach a ''result.''
The E.U., the United Nations, the United States and Russia form the ''quartet'' that negotiated the roadmap, hoping to end the fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and to establish a Palestinian state by 2005. The U.N. said implementation of the roadmap has stalled with one side waiting for the other to make the first move. dpa tn vb
Copyright (c) 2003 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur
GmbH
Received by NewsEdge Insight: 12/19/2003 13:25:39