US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has announced that the quartet of Middle East peace negotiators will meet in Washington next month.

The quartet comprises the US, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia. They will meet on February 2.

"I have issued an invitation to the members of the quartet for a meeting in Washington that will take place in the week beginning January 29, and is likely to take place on February 2," Ms Rice said.

A number of countries want to see the group play a bigger role in peace efforts in the Middle East, reports SkyNews.

Ms Rice plans to bring together Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for informal talks in a few weeks.

She says the quartet meeting could prepare the ground for talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Ms Rice is currently in Berlin to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

She will also update Tony Blair on what was achieved in her five-day Middle East tour.

Mr Blair has made the Middle East a priority issue for his final months in office, insisting there were "signs of progress" in the region.

He also praised Ms Rice's efforts although his comments were overshadowed when Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain strongly criticised the US administration.

Writing in the New Statesman, he described the current Republican administration in the US as the most right wing in living memory.