The “Quartet” of entities guiding the Middle East peace process will have its first meeting with its new envoy, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The meeting in Lisbon next Thursday will be on foreign minister level and will include Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. secretary of state, and Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. Secretary General, as well as representatives of Russia and the European Union. Portugal currently holds the six-month presidency of the European Union.
The meeting will focus on Blair’s mission of revitalizing the Palestinian economy and rebuilding Palestinian institutions after a mini-civil war that forced Palestinian moderates out of the Gaza Strip.
