Middle East mediators reaffirmed on Tuesday commitment to the roadmap peace plan for theregion, which looks moribund in face of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan.

In a statement read by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the so-called diplomatic quartet -- the United Nations, theUnited States, Russia and the European Union (EU) -- promised to stick to the roadmap, which calls for the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.

The statement came after a two-hour meeting of Annan, US Secretary of State Colin Powell, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and EU security and foreign policy chief Javier Solana, the first high-level quartet gathering since September 2003.

The quartet welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's planto dismantle all the 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and four others in the West Bank.

"We took positive note of Prime Minister Sharon's announced intention to withdraw from all Gaza settlements and parts of the West Bank," Annan said. "This should provide a rare moment of opportunity in the search for peace in the Middle East."

"This initiative, which must lead to a full Israeli withdrawal and complete end of occupation in Gaza, can be step towards achieving the two-state vision; and could restart progress on the roadmap," he added.

But Annan quickly noted that any Israeli unilateral initiative should be undertaken "in a manner consistent with the roadmap" and"no party should take unilateral actions that seek to predetermineissues" relating to the final status.

"Any final settlement on issues such as borders and refugees must be mutually agreed to by Israelis and Palestinians," he stressed.

Sharon's Likud party rejected his unilateral disengagement planin a referendum on Sunday. Despite the setback, Sharon said he would not abandon the plan, which has aroused much Palestinian fears that future Israeli-Palestinian borders could be predetermined.

Source: Xinhua