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Quartet on the Middle East

 

 
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Quartet on the Middle East
 
 
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The Quartet on the Middle East, sometimes called the Diplomatic Quartet or Madrid Quartet or simply the Quartet, is a foursome of nations and international
International

International or internationally most often describes interaction between nations, or encompassing two or more nations, constituting a group or association having members in two or more nations, or generally reaching beyond national boundaries....
 and supranational entities involved in mediating the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

The peace process in the Israeli?Palestinian conflict has taken shape over the years, despite the ongoing violence in the Middle East and an "all or nothing" attitude about a lasting peace, "which prevailed for most of the twentieth century"....
. The Quartet are the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
, the European Union
European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European Union member state, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community....
, and the United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
. The group was established in Madrid
Madrid

Madrid is the Capital and largest city of Spain. It is the Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its Madrid metropolitan area is the Largest urban areas of the European Union in the European Union after Paris aire urbaine, Greater London Urban Area, a...
 in 2002 by the Spanish Prime Minister Aznar
José María Aznar

served as the Prime Minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He is currently on the board of directors of News Corporation....
, as a result of the escalating conflict in the Middle East
Middle East

File:GreaterMiddleEast1.pngThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, western Asia, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East....
. Tony Blair
Tony Blair

Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair is a British politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007....
 is the Quartet's current Special Envoy.

lass="link1" onMouseover='showByLink("m4252935",this)' onMouseout='hide("m4252935")'href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/James_Wolfensohn">James Wolfensohn
James Wolfensohn

James David Wolfensohn Order of the British Empire, Order of Australia was the ninth president of the World Bank Group....
, the former president of the World Bank
World Bank

The World Bank is a bank that provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries for development programs with the stated goal of reducing poverty....
, was appointed Special Envoy for Israel's disengagement from Gaza
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan

Israel's unilateral disengagement plan , also known as the "Disengagement plan", "Gaza pull-out plan", and "Hitnatkut") was a proposal by Prime Ministers of Israel Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005, to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from four Israeli settlements in the northern West...
 in April 2004.






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The Quartet on the Middle East, sometimes called the Diplomatic Quartet or Madrid Quartet or simply the Quartet, is a foursome of nations and international
International

International or internationally most often describes interaction between nations, or encompassing two or more nations, constituting a group or association having members in two or more nations, or generally reaching beyond national boundaries....
 and supranational entities involved in mediating the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

The peace process in the Israeli?Palestinian conflict has taken shape over the years, despite the ongoing violence in the Middle East and an "all or nothing" attitude about a lasting peace, "which prevailed for most of the twentieth century"....
. The Quartet are the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
, the European Union
European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European Union member state, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community....
, and the United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
. The group was established in Madrid
Madrid

Madrid is the Capital and largest city of Spain. It is the Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its Madrid metropolitan area is the Largest urban areas of the European Union in the European Union after Paris aire urbaine, Greater London Urban Area, a...
 in 2002 by the Spanish Prime Minister Aznar
José María Aznar

served as the Prime Minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He is currently on the board of directors of News Corporation....
, as a result of the escalating conflict in the Middle East
Middle East

File:GreaterMiddleEast1.pngThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, western Asia, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East....
. Tony Blair
Tony Blair

Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair is a British politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007....
 is the Quartet's current Special Envoy.

Special envoys

James Wolfensohn
James Wolfensohn

James David Wolfensohn Order of the British Empire, Order of Australia was the ninth president of the World Bank Group....
, the former president of the World Bank
World Bank

The World Bank is a bank that provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries for development programs with the stated goal of reducing poverty....
, was appointed Special Envoy for Israel's disengagement from Gaza
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan

Israel's unilateral disengagement plan , also known as the "Disengagement plan", "Gaza pull-out plan", and "Hitnatkut") was a proposal by Prime Ministers of Israel Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005, to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from four Israeli settlements in the northern West...
 in April 2004. He stepped down the following year because of restrictions in dealing with the Islamic militant group Hamas and the withholding of money from the Palestinian Authority, risking its collapse.

Tony Blair
Tony Blair

Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair is a British politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007....
 announced that he had accepted the position of the official envoy of the Quartet, the same day he resigned as Prime Minister
Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of Cabinet in the Executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. The position is usually held by, but need not always be held by, a politician....
 of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 and as a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators....
 on 27 June 2007. The approval came after initial objections by Russia. The United Nations is overseeing the finances and security of his mission. In January 2008, it was announced that Tony Blair would become employed by J.P. Morgan Chase, reportedly for $1 million. When the UN was asked by a reporter if this might be a conflict of interest, the UN spokesperson said, "Ask Tony Blair."

Peace efforts and actions by the Quartet

Tony Blair has periodically travelled to the Middle East following his appointment as Special Envoy. On a trip there in March 2008, he met with Israeli leaders to discuss recent violence. A planned meeting between Israeli and Palestinian businessmen was postponed due to recent fighting. In May 2008 Tony Blair announced a new plan for peace and for Palestinian rights, based heavily on the ideas of the Peace Valley plan.

The Quartet and its representatives


— Secretary-General
United Nations Secretary-General

The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. The Secretary-General also acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the United Nations....
 Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon

Ban Ki-moon is the current Secretary-General of the United Nations of the United Nations.Before becoming Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and in the United Nations....
 — High Representative
High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy

The High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy is the main co-ordinator of the Common Foreign and Security Policy within the European Union....
 Javier Solana
Javier Solana

Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga, Doctor of Philosophy is the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Secretary-General of both the Council of the European Union of the European Union and the Western European Union ....
 — Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov — Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State

The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the President's United States Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in United States presidential line of succession and United States order of precedence....
 Hillary Clinton
  • Special Envoy — Tony Blair
    Tony Blair

    Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair is a British politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007....


See also

  • Road map for peace
    Road map for peace

    The "road map" for peace is a plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict proposed by a "Quartet for the Middle East" of international entities: the United States, the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations....
  • Russia and the Arab-Israeli conflict
    Russia and the Arab-Israeli conflict

    Russia is a member of the Quartet on the Middle East. For related developments prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, see the article Soviet Union and the Arab-Israeli conflict....


External links

  • archive of press releases pertaining to the Middle East
  • , upon meeting in London, 1 March 2005
  • U.S. State Department
  • , press release from meeting of the Quartet Principals on 20 December 2002
  • by Matthew Russell Lee, Inner City Press, January 10, 2008