Peacemakers Gather in Berlin After Mideast Summit

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will report to her partners on her three-way summit on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.Germany, which holds the EU presidency, has pushed hard for the Quartet to take a key role in encouraging a revival of the peace process. The gathering at the German Foreign Ministry is the group’s second meeting this month, following a February 2 session in Washington. Monday’s summit concluded with no new agreements and a pledge to keep talking. The US, which had pushed for the session, said it was an accomplishment merely to hold such a get-together for the first time in six years. Mr Abbas acknowledged the talks had been “tense and difficult,” but said “it was not a failure and it will be followed by other meetings.”But on Tuesday, Israel ruled out any talks on a final peace deal with Mr Abbas if he goes ahead with plans for his moderate Fatah faction to join the Islamic militant Hamas in a new government.The US and EU have demanded that any Palestinian government recognise Israel, accept previous peace agreements and renounce violence as a condition for restoring vital foreign aid. Hamas has rejected the conditions, and the unity government accord tries to finesse those points.The Quartet meeting brings Ms Rice together with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov; German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier; EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, and the bloc’s external relations commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

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