Statement issued by Middle East Quartet on June, 24, 2008

The Quartet:
- reaffirmed its support for ongoing Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and stressed the urgent need for tangible progress towards the shared goal of an agreement by the end of 2008
- underscored the urgent need for more visible progress on the ground in order to build confidence and support progress in the negotiations launched at Annapolis
- urged the parties to build upon these efforts, fulfilling all of their obligations under the Road Map and refraining from any steps that undermine confidence or could prejudice the outcome of negotiations
- voiced its support for the outcomes of the “Berlin Conference in Support of Palestinian Civil Security and the Rule of Law"
- urged all donors to fulfill their pledges from the December 2007 Paris donors’ conferenc
- looked to the next Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meeting on September 22 to take stock of progress
- reaffirmed its support for Quartet Representative Tony Blair’s efforts, and congratulated the Palestinian Authority on the success of the May 21-23 Palestine Investment Conference in Bethlehem
- encouraged cooperation between Israel and Palestine to break ground on short- and medium-term projects
- underscored the importance of uninterrupted transfers of Palestinian tax and customs revenues to the Palestinian Authority
- noted that a lasting solution to the situation in Gaza can only be achieved through peaceful means. The Quartet expressed its continuing support for Egyptian efforts to restore calm to Gaza and southern Israel and welcomed the period of calm that began on 19 June
- urged that the calm be respected in full and expressed the hope that it would endure
- welcomed the European Union’s offer to resume its monitoring mission at the Rafah crossing point - expressed strong support for the steady and sufficient supplies of fuel to Gaza and for the immediate resumption of stalled United Nations and other donor projects there
- welcomed the May 21 announcement by Syria, Israel and Turkey that indirect talks have been launched
- looked forward to meeting again in September at the United Nations General Assembly to elaborate the timing and agenda of an international meeting in Moscow
- reaffirmed its commitment to a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on United Nations Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 1397 (2002) and 1515 (2003).