German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday she and Russian President Vladimir Putin supported the so-called Quartet of international mediators launching a new drive to revive the Middle East peace process, Reuters reported. The Quartet -- the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations -- is expected to meet in Washington on Feb. 2 to try to kick-start long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. "We agreed completely that the revival of the Middle East Quartet is a good thing," Merkel told reporters after meeting Putin in the city of Sochi on the Black Sea coast. Putin said: "We intend to pay special attention to the solution of the Middle East problem based on the road map recognised by all sides. We support efforts by (Merkel) to hold a meeting of the Quartet of mediators very soon."
