UNITED NATIONS, January 15 (Sputnik) – The meeting of the envoys of the so-called Middle East Quartet, comprising Russia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, will take place on January 26 in Brussels, the UN press service said in a statement Thursday.
"In response to questions concerning the next meeting of the Quartet, the Spokesman can say that a meeting at the Envoys' level is scheduled for 26 January in Brussels," the statement read.
The Middle East Quartet, which was established in 2002, is involved in mediating the settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
UN Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs, Jens Toyberg-Frandzen, who was opening the UN Security Council meeting, noted that a resumption of negotiations between Israel and the Palestine is becoming less likely to occur.
The most recent bid to pass the Palestinian statehood resolution was rejected by the UN Security Council on December 30, with eight nations, including Russia, supporting the document, the United States and Australia voting against it and five countries abstaining.
The UN regulations state that, in order to be adopted, a document must be supported by at least nine nations, with all five permanent representatives of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom) voting in favour.
The failed resolution stipulated the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in 1967, with Tel Aviv withdrawing all of its forces by the end of 2017.
