The Palestinian presidency on Thursday called on the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators to support a European declaration of principles to settle Israeli- Palestinian conflict.

The declaration, presented by Britain, Germany and France, was announced by the British envoy to the United Nations at a UN Security Council meeting on Feb. 18 when Washington vetoed an Arab bill against the Jewish settlement building.

If the Quartet, which comprises the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, adopted the context of the European initiative, "it will be a step in the right direction and we will accept it and then it would be possible to return to peace negotiations," said Nabil Abu Rdineh, spokesman for Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

The statement envisions a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with equal land swap and security arrangements maintaining the sovereignty of the Palestinian state. The statement also called for a solution to share Jerusalem as the capital of the two states.

The Quartet is initially set to meet on March 15 in Paris to assess the Middle East negotiations, which were halted when Israel resumed building settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories in September.

But if the Quartet accepted new proposals from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which Abu Rdineh described as " maneuvers," then "the volcano in the Arab region will flame more," Abu Rdineh warned.

Representatives of the Quartet will hear the Israeli proposals and meet Palestinian officials before they confirm the date of the meeting in Paris.