The United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations called September 23 for the Palestinians and Israel to resume direct peace talks within a month and commit to seeking a deal by the end of 2012.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Washington expects "a Quartet meeting some time by the end of this week or on the weekend, to try to see what we can all do to encourage the two sides to come back to the table.
"We continue to believe that the Quartet has put forward a good timetable, an appropriate roadmap for these parties to begin working directly together."
The United States also believes "that that is the best way to get down to brass tacks and try to get to a Palestinian state living in peace with Israel," Nuland said.
Israel called Sunday for an immediate return to peace talks under the framework of a proposal by the Quartet, a statement welcomed by the United States.
But the Jewish state said the plan included no preconditions -- an interpretation the Palestinians quickly rejected.
The Palestinians are demanding Israel halt settlements in land they want to build a future state. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
