President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday Russia supported Germany's proposal for the Quartet of international mediators to meet soon in a bid to inject new impetus to the Middle East peace process.

"We paid special attention to the Middle East settlement based on the roadmap recognized by all the sides," Putin was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the southern resort town of Sochi.

Russia supported Merkel's proposal to hold a meeting of the Quartet in the nearest future, he said.

Germany has made the revival of the Middle East peace process one of its priorities during its presidency of the European Union (EU) and pledged to focus on reactivating peace efforts by the Quartet, which groups the EU, the United States, Russia and the United Nations.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday in Berlin that the Quartet was likely to meet early next month in Washington.

Putin said Russia and Germany's approaches to major international issues are close. The talks with Merkel in Sochi " confirmed the proximity of positions on key items on the international agenda," he said.

Source: Xinhua