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Quartet Statement (May 2004)

Location
New York, NY
Date
2004-05-04
People
Chris Patten, European Union: Author, Colin L. Powell, United States: Author, Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia: Subject, Ariel Sharon, Israel: Subject, Sergei Lavrov, Russian Federation: Author, Javier Solana, European Union: Author, Brian Cowen, Ireland: Author, Kofi Annan, United Nations: Author, George W. Bush, United States: Subject
Two statements published by the Middle East Quartet on 17 September 2002 in New York, NY, following a meeting between UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, US Secretary of State Colin Powell, EU High Representative Javier Solana, EU Commissioner for External Affairs Chris Patten and Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen. The first statement, by Annan, called on both sides to honor their obligations under the Road Map as specified by UNSC Resolution 1515 and previous Quartet statements, as well as commitments made at the 2003 Aqaba and Sharm el-Sheikh summits. Annan condemned "terror attacks" carried out as part of the Second Intifada and called on Israel to "ease the humanitarian and economic plight of the Palestinian people". He noted Israel's description of the West Bank Separation Barrier as a security measure but expressed concern at its actual and planned route, "took positive note" of the Disengagement Plan, reaffirmed the two-state vision under the Road Map and U.S. President Bush's Vision for Peace and called for a comprehensive Arab-Israeli settlement based on UNSC Resolutions 242 and 338. The leaders' joint statement reiterated most of Annan's points, while also citing the Madrid terms of reference, UNSC Resolution 1397 and the Saudi Peace Initiative as endorsed by the Arab League as further basis for a final settlement.