UN chief to attend Mideast quartet meeting in Lisbon

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon will attend a meeting in Lisbon next week of the diplomatic quartet pushing for Middle East peace, his press office said yesterday.
 
"The meeting comes at a crucial moment and will be an opportunity to assess the recent events and discuss the way forward to advance the cause of peace in the Middle East," UN deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe told journalists, speaking about the meeting to be held on Thursday.

The quartet -- the European Union, Russia, United Nations and United States -- originally planned to meet in June, but postponed the gathering after the militant Palestinian group Hamas seized power in the Gaza Strip.

Okabe said the quartet principals would discuss with the new Quartet envoy, Tony Blair, "how best to assist the Palestinian Authority in building its institutions and economy, which are vital for the creation of a viable Palestinian state".

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and senior EU officials are also expected to take part in the Lisbon meeting.

Blair was named quartet envoy following his resignation as British prime minister last month.

His mandate is to mobilize international assistance to the Palestinians, help lay the groundwork for a Palestinian state, and promote economic development in the occupied territories.