Annan to attend Quartet meeting in Jordan in bid to boost Middle East peace

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will participate in a meeting in Amman, Jordan, on 22 June with fellow sponsors of the Road Map peace plan - the United States, European Union and Russia - in an effort to boost the initiative in the face of continuing Israeli-Palestinian violence.

"The Secretary-General believes the Amman meeting will be a timely opportunity to discuss what the Quartet (the four co-sponsors) might do to help generate further momentum in the difficult search for peace," a spokesman for Mr. Annan said in a statement in New York today.

"He believes very strongly that the parties should not allow themselves to be deterred by acts of violence and terror. They should show restraint in their words and actions, so that a revived peace process can gain traction through implementation of the Road Map," the statement added.

The meeting follows the recent summit in Aqaba, Jordan, between US President George W. Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, at which both Israel and the Palestinians agreed to begin implementing the peace plan, which calls for both sides to take parallel and reciprocal steps culminating in two states living side by side in peace and security by 2005.