The main mediators in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict meet in New York today in search of an elusive common plan of action to fill the gap before Palestinians hold elections in early 2003.
The Middle East "quartet" - the US, the EU, Russia and the UN - agree on the need for a Palestinian state but have different ideas on how to share out the demands on Israelis and Palestinians.
They will take part in talks in New York gathering Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell, EU foreign policy chief Mr Javier Solana, Russian Foreign Minister Mr Igor Ivanov and UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan.
The foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan, Mr Ahmed Maher and Mr Marwan al-Muasher, will meet separately with Mr Powell and then with the "quartet" leaders at Mr Annan's residence.
The Arab ministers, along with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, are then expected in Washington later in the week, possibly for a meeting with President Bush, officials said last night.
State Department spokesman Mr Richard Boucher said the aim of the talks was to advance the "vision" laid out by Mr Bush in a June 24th speech which made a change in the Palestinian leadership a precondition for progress on statehood.
But the Europeans and Arabs, while welcoming aspects of the US approach, do not share Mr Bush's view that Palestinian President Yasser Arafat must go. Nor do they accept his tolerance of Israel's reoccupation of seven out of the main eight West Bank towns.