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Middle East Quartet call for soonest resumption of Palestinian-Israeli settlement talks

Quartet expressed its concern over the difficult situation in Gaza

MUNICH, February 8. /TASS/. Representatives of the Middle East Quartet have called for resuming talks on the Palestinian-Israeli settlement as soon as possible, according to a statement issued by the European Union External Action Service on Sunday following a Quartet meeting at the Munich Security Conference.

Taking part in the meeting were Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, United States Secretary of State John Kerry, European Union High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, and United Nation Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson /who represented United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon/.

"The Quartet underlined the importance of the parties resuming negotiations as soon as possible, with a view to reaching a just, lasting and comprehensive peace on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338, the Madrid Principles including land for peace and the agreements previously reached between the parties," the Quartet Principles’ Statement says.

The Quartet expressed its deep concern over the difficult situation in Gaza, "where the pace of reconstruction needs to be accelerated to address the basic needs of the Palestinian population and to ensure stability."

"The Quartet Principals stressed that donor funding is critical. They expressed support for the recent joint letter by Egypt and Norway, as well as the joint statement by the Secretary-Generals of the United Nations and the League of Arab States, urging donors to disburse as soon as possible their financial commitments made at the October 2014 Cairo Conference, including the funding of UN agencies carrying out vital operations in Gaza for both the refugee and non-refugee populations," the statement says.

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