The United Nations, European Union, United States and Russia - the so-called quartet - welcomed the resumed peace talks in Washington between Israeli and Palestinian envoys, in a statement Tuesday, dpa reported.
At UN headquarters in New York, quartet representatives commended Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for their "courageous decision in the interest of their peoples" to return to the negotiating table.
The quartet said it was "determined to lend its effective support to the efforts of the parties and their shared commitment to achieve a negotiated two-state solution within the agreed timeframe of nine months."
It said hard work remains ahead for the negotiators, but it voiced the hope that renewed negotiations will be "substantive and continuous and set a clear path towards a two-state solution, the end of conflict, and lasting peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians."