Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday called on the European Union (EU) to urge the Quartet of Middle East peace players to launch a "meaningful" peace process.

Abbas made his remarks after his meeting with Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Baconschi in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The Quartet, which comprises the United States, EU, Russia and the United Nations, "must emphasize the importance of freezing Israeli settlement and base on international law's references until reaching the establishment of Palestinian state with (East) Jerusalem as its capital," Abbas said in a statement.

The Quartet is set to convene in Brussels later this month to discuss the resumption of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, which have stalled when Israel ended a 10-month moratorium on construction in West Bank settlements last September.

The statement said that Baconschi renewed his country's support to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in its plan to upgrade national institutions.

The Palestinians demand Israel must freeze the construction before restarting the negotiations. Last month, the efforts of Arab and Palestinians to oblige Israel to halt building received a blow when the United States vetoed a bill to condemn the settlement.