Cuarteto de MadridElCuarteto de Madrid, tambin llamadoCuarteto de Oriente Medio,Cuarteto Diplomticoo simplementeEl Cuarteto, es un grupo de cuatro Estados y entidades supranacionales involucrados en elproceso de pazdelconflicto rabe-israel. El cuarteto lo forman losEstados Unidos,Rusia, laUnin Europeay lasNaciones Unidas. El grupo fue fundado en la ciudad deMadriden el ao2002como resultado de una escalada en el conflicto deOriente Medio.Tony Blaires el enviado especial del Cuarteto.Enviados especiales[editar]James Wolfensohn, ex presidente delBanco Mundial, fue designado enviado especial para negociar el final de la ocupacin de lafranja de Gazapor parte deIsraelen abril de2004. Renunci al siguiente ao debido a los problemas durante la negociacin conHamasy los casos de corrupcin de laAutoridad Nacional Palestina. Tony Blair hizo pblica su intencin de ocupar el puesto de enviado especial del Cuarteto de Madrid el mismo da en que dej de ser primer ministro del Reino Unido y miembro delParlamento Britnico. La aprobacin de Blair lleg despus de ciertas objeciones por parte de Rusia.

Quartet on the Middle EastTheQuartet on the Middle EastorMiddle East Quartet, sometimes called theDiplomatic QuartetorMadrid Quartetor simply theQuartet, is a foursome of nations andinternationalandsupranationalentities involved in mediating thepeace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Quartet are theUnited Nations, theUnited States, theEuropean Union, andRussia. The group was established inMadridin 2002, recallingMadrid Conference of 1991, as a result of the escalating conflict in theMiddle East.Tony Blairis the Quartet's current Special Envoy.History[edit]The initiative to establish the Quartet evolved following the outbreak of the Second Intifada in September 2000 and the futile cease-fire attempts that followed. On October 25, 2001, representatives of the EU, UN and the US and Russian governments met Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and jointly expressed support for his policy of implementing cease-fire and security reforms in the Palestinian Authority.[1]During the Israeli incursions into Palestinian areas in April 2002, the representatives of the same four entities met in Madrid and again called for implementation of cease-fire agreements brokered by the US government before. In the same meeting, they also agreed to transform their quadripartite cooperation into a permanent forum for follow-up of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.[2]Special Envoys[edit]James Wolfensohn, the former president of theWorld Bank, was appointed Special Envoy forIsrael's disengagement from Gazain April 2005.[3]He stepped down the following year because of restrictions in dealing with the Islamic militant group Hamas and the withholding of money from the Palestinian Authority, risking its collapse.[4]Tony Blairannounced that he had accepted the position of the official envoy of the Quartet, the same day he resigned asPrime Ministerof theUnited Kingdomand as aMember of Parliamenton 27 June 2007.[5]The approval came after initial objections by Russia.[6]The United Nations is overseeing the finances and security of his mission.[7]Peace efforts and actions[edit]Tony Blair has periodically travelled to the Middle East following his appointment as Special Envoy. On a trip there in March 2008, he met with Israeli leaders to discuss recent violence. A planned meeting between Israeli and Palestinian businessmen was postponed due to recent fighting.[8]In May 2008 Blair announced a new plan for peace and for Palestinian rights, based heavily on the ideas of thePeace Valley plan.[9]In an August 2009 interview, Blair said he would like to see Hamas and Hezbollah included in peace talks but under the right conditions, that religious leaders should be more involved in the peace process, and that resolving the conflict could be easier than it was in Northern Ireland.[10]In a speech given in Israel on August 24, 2010, Blair sharply criticised the campaign of "delegitimization" being carried out by enemies of Israel and proponents of the Palestinians, which refuses to grant Israel its legitimate right to its own point of view and self-defense. "Don't apply rules to the Government of Israel that you would never dream of applying to your own country," he said. He characterized such double standards and prejudice as being an "affront to humanity" which "it is a democratic duty to counter."[11]Criticism and shortcomings[edit]Despite the significance officially attached to the Quartet's part in promoting the peace process, many of its statements are merely repetition of previous statements and no significant changes in policy by either the Israeli government or the Palestinian Authority have occurred resulting from a Quartet meeting.[12]In December 2012, Palestinian officials declared Tony Blair's job, and the Quartet he represents, to be "useless, useless, useless".[13]Main sessions[edit]The Quartet's meetings have been held on the following dates: May 2, 2002 July 16, 2002a September 17, 2002 December 20, 2002 February 19, 2003 June 22, 2003 September 26, 2003 December 11, 2003 May 4, 2004 July 78, 2004 September 22, 2004 March 1, 2005 April 14, 2005 May 9, 2005 June 23, 2005 September 20, 2005 October 28, 2005 December 5, 2005 January 26, 2006 March 30, 2006 May 9, 2006 June 17, 2006 September 20, 2006 November 15, 2006 December 22, 2006 February 2, 2007 February 21, 2007 March 21, 2007 May 30, 2007 June 27, 2007 July 20, 2007 September 23, 2007 November 26, 2007 December 18, 2007 May 2, 2008 June 24, 2008 September 26, 2008 November 9, 2008 June 26, 2009 September 24, 2009 March 19, 2010 May 11, 2010 June 21, 2010 August 20, 2010 May 20, 2011 July 11, 2011b August 16, 2011c September 23, 2011d October 9, 2011e October 26, 2011f December 14, 2011 January 3, 2012 March 12, 2012 April 11, 2012 July 30, 2013 September 27, 2013

a Proclaimed theRoad Mapfor thetwo-state solution. b Convened in order to find a formula for restarting bilateral negotiations; ended without any results. c Condemned settlement expansion in Ariel and East Jerusalem.[14] d Issued a new schedule for resumption of negotiations between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority, which called for completing negotiations by end of 2012.[15] e Called upon the parties to resume negotiations.[16] f Meeting with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Jerusalem.