Understanding the Quartet

October 3, 2007

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad (AP)

The Quartet developed in April, 2002, at a meeting in Madrid between diplomatic representatives of the United States, Russia, Spain, the United Nations, and the European Union. It promotes a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, achieved through bilateral discussions between the Palestinian Authority and the Government of Israel, a rejection of violence, and the building of Palestinian economic and political institutions. The Quartet is responsible for supporting and implementing President Bush’s 2003 “Performance Based Roadmap."

Principals
The European Union represented by:
The High Representative for European Foreign and Security Policy: Javier Solana
European Commissioner for External Relations: Benita Ferrero-Waldner
Foreign Minister of the country holding the presidency of the EU: Luis Amado of Portugal

The Russian Federation represented by:
Foreign Minister: Sergei Lavrov

The United Nations represented by:
Secretary General: Ban Ki-Moon of South Korea

The United States
represented by:
Secretary of State: Condoleezza Rice

Special Envoy Tony Blair (June 2006- Present): Appointed in June, 2007, following the end of his British premiership. Special Envoy Blair is charged with securing international support for political institution building and promoting economic development in the Palestinian territories.
Special Envoy James Wolfensohn (April 2005- May 2006): Former president of the World Bank, appointed Quartet special envoy in 2005 by Secretary Rice. His mandate was to coordinate non-military aspects of Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the West Bank, and to promote Palestinian development. Special Envoy Wolfensohn resigned his post 11 months later, citing the rhetoric of the new Hamas government as making diplomatic situation too difficult for further negotiations. In 2007 however, he told Haaretz his mission failed because his mandate did not include the authority to negotiate a peace settlement.

Other Envoys of Quartet Members
Russian Federation: Alexander Saltanov, appointed in December 2006, formerly Deputy Prime Minister. Served as the Russian president’s envoy to Lebanon during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah conflict.
European Union: Marc Otte, whose mission statement sets the EU’s objectives in the Middle East as seeking solutions to the Israeli-Syrian and Israeli- Lebanese conflicts, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
United Nations: Since May, 2007, the UN Special Envoy to the Middle East has been Michael C. Williams, a senior UN diplomat and former adviser to two UK foreign secretaries. In September, 2007, Williams left his post at the UN to become Britain’s special envoy to the Middle East.



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In-Depth Coverage

Original Commentaries

08/20/10
Center for American Progress Welcomes Resumption of Direct Talks  —
08/10/10
A View from the Ground  —Darbaz Kosrat Rasul, chair, Rebaz Foundation. Interview with Middle East Bulletin.
08/03/10
U.S.-Turkish Relations  —Ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone, Jr., recently returned deputy ambassador in Afghanistan; former ambassador to Egypt (2005-2008); and deputy chief of mission and charge d'affaires in U.S. embassy in Turkey (1995-1999). Congressional Testimony.

Setting the Record Straight

Eye Still on the Ball

“Adverse developments in Iraq will be (and will look to be) increasingly a function of the Obama Team taking their eye off of the ball and rushing to declare mission accomplished. Yes, in such a scenario the Iraqis should bear most of the blame, but the part that is due to U.S. action or inaction will be Obama's responsibility. And it will matter. Iraq is at the center of a region that every president since Jimmy Carter has identified as vital to our national security. Iraq is next door to, and the playground for mischief from, the most thorny national security challenge the United States faces: a nuclear-weapons-seeking Iranian regime. These inconvenient facts mean that if the Iraqi situation demands more focused and costly U.S. attention, it will likely get it. At that point, what sort of domestic coalition will be available for President Obama's Iraq policy?”
—Peter Feaver, director, Triangle Institute for Security Studies; former director for defense policy and arms control, National Security Council, “Obama’s Iraq Speech: Another Missed Opportunity,” Foreign Policy, August 3, 2010versus
  • “Iraq is a strategically important place in the Middle East, just by its geographic location, by its population, by the influence it's had in the Middle East for a long time. So neighboring countries from around the Middle East have an interest inside of Iraq.

    “But I will tell you that I think Iraqis themselves are nationalistic in nature, and that's why it's important. A strong Iraq will defend itself against interference from outside countries, and I think as we build a strong Iraq and as we continue to build a strong security mechanism and as we continue to help them economically and diplomatically, that will make it less likely of others from the outside being able to interfere.

    “Now, for the vacuum as we see today, again, I remind everyone is that we still have a significant presence here, and we are not going to—we will not allow undue maligned influence on the Iraqi government as they attempt to form their government. What we're trying to do is provide them the space and time for them to do that, and we will continue to do that post 1 September. We'll still have a significant civilian presence, and again, we'll still have 50,000 troops on the ground here to ensure that this government can be formed by the Iraqis. And that all the other nations respect their sovereignty as they go about forming their government.”
    —General Ray Odierno, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, interview, “This Week” with Christiane Amanpour, August 8, 2010

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