UNITED NATIONS, Sept 17: The international diplomatic “quartet” on the Middle East adopted a EU roadmap that envisions that creation of a Palestinian state by 2005, but failed to reach anything more than the general timing of interim steps.

Top diplomats from the quartet — the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations — agreed to the outline after a series of three meetings here that included separate consultations with Israeli and Palestinian officials as well as several Arab foreign ministers. —AFP