The United States and other Mideast mediators met on Monday in Washington to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and an upcoming U.N. confrontation over whether to recognize Palestine as an independent country. Modest goals have been set by the international diplomatic "quartet" of Mideast peacemakers, which includes the United States, the United Nations, Russia, and the European Union. The leading goal will be to get Israel and the Palestinians back to the table for direct talks after nine months of inaction, the State Department said. "We thought it was a good idea for them all to touch base at that level, to compare notes on what it is going to take to get the parties back to the table, and to speak to our shared aspirations that we will have a negotiated solution to this issue rather than unnecessary and potentially damaging action in New York in September," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters. U.S. Secretary Hilary Clinton, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergev Lavrov, and European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton will hold a working dinner and then may release a statement, Nuland said.
