Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his objectives are for his Department's participation in the Quartet in the Middle East peace process. [42194]

Alistair Burt MP; Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State: The UK is represented on the Middle East Quartet by the EU. It is primarily through the EU, but also through our strong links with other Middle East Quartet members-the US, UN and Russia-that we focus our efforts in pushing for a more prescriptive approach to the Middle East peace process.

Our goal, as stated clearly by the UK, France and Germany, following the 18 February 2011 vote on the Palestinian UN resolution on settlements, is to return the parties to negotiations on the basis of clear parameters. As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made clear in the House on 14 February 2011, Official Report, column 716, the entire international community, including the US, should now support 1967 borders as the basis for resumed negotiations. The result should be two states, with Jerusalem as the future capital of both, and a fair settlement for refugees.