By IRNA,
Berlin : European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Saturday that the next Mideast Quartet meeting is scheduled to take place in the middle of March.
Addressing the 47th Munich Security Conference, Ashton pointed out that the Quartet, comprised of United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, had concluded a ‘very successful’ meeting on the sidelines of the Munich security confab on Saturday.
The EU official all sides had ‘agreed to meet again in the middle of March.’
Ashton said the meeting would precede talks between the Quartet’s special envoy Tony Blair and Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, scheduled for early March in Brussels, whereby all parties are looking at reviving the Middle East peace negotiations.
She stressed those talks would include core issues, including the borders and security.
Ashton highlighted the ‘sense of urgency’ on the matter against the backdrop of what she viewed as ‘dramatic events in Egypt and elsewhere in the region.’
Meanwhile, the Middle East Quartet said in a statement following its meeting in Munich Saturday that any ‘further delay in the resumption of negotiations is detrimental to prospects for regional peace and security.’
The Quartet expressed hope the negotiations could be concluded ‘by September 2011.’