UNITED NATIONS – Next month’s high-level meeting in London is seen as a revival of the steering group known as “the quartet” and an attempt by Secretary of State Rice to allow for deeper international involvement in peacemaking.

“We noticed that Condi was speaking of the quartet when she was here,” a Jerusalem official told The New York Sun, referring to Ms. Rice’s Sunday visit and the international group made of the European Union, Russia, the United Nations, and America.

Contrary to its usual reluctance, Israel sees the renewal of the quartet’s involvement as a positive development, the official added. The quartet, he explained, could give an international flair to the current Israeli-driven diplomacy. At the same time, it could be used as a buffer against “some crazy ideas that might otherwise come from Moscow or Paris.”

A U.N. official yesterday confirmed that Mr. Annan will attend the March 1 summit in London, first envisioned by Prime Minister Blair as a meeting to assist the rebuilding of the Palestinian Authority. European foreign ministers, Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, and Ms. Rice will attend.

“There is a natural division of labor,” said the U.N. official, who asked not to be named. “It is natural for the Americans to take the lead on security issues. The Europeans supply the economic assistance and we conduct the diplomacy: The U.N. has access to people the U.S. doesn’t talk to.”

Mr. Annan was in London yesterday. Undersecretary-General for political affairs, Kieran Prendergast, has spent the last week there dealing primarily with details of repositioning the quartet as a diplomatic player.

Until recently, Mr. Prendergast has been mentioned as a candidate for the position of Middle East special envoy, which is seen at the U.N. as an increasingly prominent post because of the prospect for renewed diplomacy. According to diplomats and U.N. officials, however, Mr. Prendergast’s candidacy is now doubtful, although Mr. Annan has yet to focus on another candidate.

Terje Roed-Larsen, who served in that post until the end of 2004, is now special envoy for Syria and Lebanon. Yesterday he met President Assad in Damascus for over an hour, and mentioned afterwards that although outside of his mandate, “I know the secretary-general is greatly encouraged by the renewed peace process between Palestinians and Israelis.”

Contrary to Mr. Roed-Larsen’s attempts to include Syria in peace talks, however, Damascus is seen by America and Israel as a supporter of terrorism, and therefore unhelpful. Syria was not invited to this week’s Sharm el Sheik, Egypt Summit. Concerned about being left out, Foreign Minister Farouk AShara yesterday announced a competing conference in Damascus, inviting all of Israel’s neighbors.

As opposed to of past attempts at comprehensive solutions to Arab-Israeli disputes, Prime Minister Sharon’s concept is to evacuate Gaza and parts of the West Bank in increments, making sure at each step that the areas Israel has left would not become launching pads for Palestinian Arab terrorism.

The Jerusalem official told the Sun yesterday that Israel fears foreign policy experts, especially in Europe, Russia, or the U.N., who would try to undermine that incremental concept.

“That is why we have an interest in reminding everyone that this is the main concept of the road map,” he said, referring to the American-led peace plan that was approved by the quartet. “Reconvening the quartet could actually be helpful in reminding them they have signed on to the concept,” the official said.