U.N. envoy to Middle East is resigning
The U.N.’s envoy to the Middle East, Alvaro de Soto, plans to leave the post in May, and diplomats said Tuesday that the world body was considering options that include naming a special envoy jointly with its “quartet” partners.
Members of the quartet -- the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations -- are drafting proposals to try to spur negotiations between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
The quartet cut off direct financial aid to the Palestinian government after the militant Hamas movement beat Abbas’ Fatah faction in 2006 elections.
Diplomats cautioned that opposition within the quartet could scuttle the idea of appointing an envoy for the group.
The quartet’s last envoy, James Wolfensohn, stepped down a year ago and had focused largely on economic issues before Hamas came to power.
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