Quartet in Berlin
February 21, 2007
The Quartet -- Russia, the European Union, the United States and the United Nations -- will tackle the diplomatic riddle posed by the power-sharing deal between Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and the Islamist movement Hamas.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to try to convince her allies to withhold recognition of the unity government unless Hamas meets international principles for peace, aides said.
She told reporters after talks with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier ahead of the Quartet meeting that the international partners had agreed to reserve judgement until the Palestinian government is formed.
Sitting tight
"We've said, all of us, that we'll await the formation of a new government before making any decisions about what to do, because we don't want to make premature decisions," Rice said.
But she said the Palestinian leadership should not expect any flexibility on the conditions the Quartet had laid out.
"Those are not principles put there to be an obstacle, they are put there because they're foundational for peace," she said.
"It's very difficult to imagine a circumstance where you have peace talks but one party doesn't recognize the existence of the other," Rice said.
Hamas, which the US, European Union and Israel consider a terrorist organization, has not yet clearly agreed to the West's conditions of recognizing Israel, renouncing violence and honoring past agreements with the Jewish state.
Rice also emphasized the importance of continuing to support Abbas in his power struggle with Iranian-backed Hamas.
Inconclusive summit
Rice held an inconclusive summit Monday in Jerusalem with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Steinmeier, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, called the meeting "a first step" but noted that hopes for peace were complicated by the fraught negotiations on the formation of a Palestinian government.
"That is why we need to be particularly realistic going into these talks," he said, referring to the Quartet gathering.
"We are nevertheless determined to seize this opportunity," he said.
Russia and the UN said they would use the Berlin meeting to push for the unity government to be recognized. Moscow said it would call for the removal of aid and diplomatic boycotts imposed on the Palestinian government after it fell under Hamas' control following January 2006 elections.
Growing unease
The embargo imposed by the Quartet after the 2006 elections has caused widespread economic hardship in the Palestinian areas and there is growing unease in Europe over the measures.
The spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Cristina Gallach, said that Palestinian unity was a crucial step forward but indicated it was too early to consider lifting the embargo.
"Obviously one cannot put everything on the table because they are still in negotiations -- we have not yet seen the composition of the government," she said.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon said in Berlin ahead of the Quartet talks that he was "encouraged" by the power-sharing deal between Fatah and Hamas.
Defending the unity government
Abbas, long portrayed by Washington as the best "partner for peace" with Israel, has embarked on a diplomatic offensive of his own. He is touring Europe to defend the unity government deal.
He insists the agreement reached between his Fatah party and Hamas should satisfy the Quartet principles since it obliges the new unity government to respect international resolutions and agreements signed by the Fatah-led Palestine Liberation Organisation -- meaning deals with the Jewish state.
Palestinians urged the Quartet powers to give their incoming government a chance.
"We hope the Quartet will take a positive approach towards the
government and not resort to pressure and boycott," said Ghazi
Hamad, spokesman for the Hamas-led government.
Israel has ruled out dealing with any government that includes Hamas.
It reiterated its hope that the Quartet will stick to the conditions imposed on the Palestinian government for the aid boycott to be lifted.
"It is important and critical that the international community continues to respect these conditions, which are not negotiable," Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said in a radio interview.