Germany's Merkel to tour West Asia to promote peace

BERLIN, Jan 3 (Reuters) German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit the West Asia early in February as part of a drive to re-energise peace efforts in the region during Germany's EU presidency, a government official said today.

Merkel, whose country holds the European Union's rotating presidency for the first half of this year, will visit Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait on the tour, from February 3-6.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Jens Ploetner said Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had spoken recently to the U S secretary of state, the new U N secretary general, and Russia's foreign minister about reviving the so-called ''Quartet'' group of West Asia mediators.

The group is composed of the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States.

''The bottom line from all these talks is that there is growing agreement for an early meeting of the Quartet at foreign ministers, or U N secretary general, level,'' Ploetner told a regular government news conference.

''I cannot say when exactly that will be. But we're working on it,'' he added. ''We are really confident that such a meeting could be possible in the not too distant future.'' REUTERS BDP BS1922