Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin announced that the foreign ministers of the Quartet for Middle East peace, which consists out of the United States, Russia, the European Union and United Nations, are scheduled to meet next Thursday to discuss promoting the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov said that the members of the Quartet would examine initiatives for the renewal of the peace process, including the French, Egyptian and Russian initiatives, and the ways to improve the situation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.