Source: BBC World Service
Speaking on behalf of the Quartet in Moscow, Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon condemned Israeli plans to build new homes in occupied East Jerusalem and called for a freeze on all settlement activity.
The quartet continues to play an important role in that it “prevents the Israelis, Palestinians, Syrians, etc. from trying to play one international power off the other,” notes Michele Dunne. It allows the international powers "to meet, agree, and formalize their approach."
For Russia, membership in the quartet requires walking a delicate balance between maintaining their credentials as friends of the Palestinians while avoiding undermining their strong relationship with Israel. Konstantin Eggert suggests that there shouldn't be high hopes for the quartet meeting. "I think that this quartet meeting is going to produce exactly what other meetings have produced before, and that's pretty much nothing," he said.