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Quartet meeting on Israeli-Palestinian peace talks postponed

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The United States has acted to block an initiative by Britain, France and Germany to propose the outlines of a final status accord to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, United Nations diplomats and a US official said yesterday. The three European Countries had proposed that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and the EU would propose the settlement text at a meeting of the Quartet of Mideast mediators – the U.S., UN, EU and Russia – tentatively scheduled to take place Friday in Berlin on the sidelines of a NATO ministerial meeting. However, the Obama administration is not convinced that such a move would contribute to the diplomatic process at the present time. The efforts by the three EU countries derives from frustration at the deadlock in the peace process, and the failure to create a basis for a return to negotiation. The move reflects an increasing willingness by European powers to act independently of the US in this context.