"It was a good meeting," said Lavrov, one of four Quartet members to meet in Washington late Monday, along with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon; EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton; and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

There was no statement issued after Monday's working dinner, but Lavrov insisted that that did not signal discord among the foursome tasked with laying the groundwork for fresh peace talks.

"The fact that we didn't produce a statement doesn't mean we disagree and abandoned the effort. Our experts continue to discuss it," Lavrov told reporters in the US capital.

The Russian envoy added: "We have the same desire... to see Palestinians and Israelis returning to the negotiating table and beginning to talk on substance.

"The position to be presented by the Quartet hopefully soon should reflect the specific demands by each of the parties," said Lavrov. "I'm sure we'll have time to consult again."

The meeting to seek a way to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks was likely be one of the last meetings of the Quartet before the UN General Assembly in September, when Palestinians intend to push for unilateral recognition of their promised state despite US and Israeli opposition.

Peace talks on reaching a deal ground to a halt in September 2010 when Israel failed to renew a partial freeze on settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.

Since then, the Palestinians have refused to return to talks as long as Israel builds on occupied land they want for a future state.

In May, US President Barack Obama urged the two parties to negotiate borders based on 1967 lines with mutually-agreed swaps -- a position that all of the Quartet members have voiced support for.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the 1967 borders "indefensible," and insists there could can be no peace deal the Palestinians first recognize Israel as the "Jewish state."

Saeb Erakat said the meeting of the Middle East peacemaking group, which ended without a statement or declaration, showed the necessity of the Palestinian plan for UN membership.

"There is no other option but to support the Palestinian plan to go to the United Nations to seek full membership for the state of Palestine on the 1967 borders," Erakat said a day after the Quartet meeting in Washington.

The peacemaking group met as the Palestinians move ahead with their plan to seek UN membership for a state on the lines that existed before the 1967 Six Day War, covering the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including east Jerusalem.

The plan is opposed by Israel, the United States and some European governments, and the Quartet had been expected to draw up a new initiative for peace talks that could persuade the Palestinians to drop the UN bid.

But the talks ended with no statement and no action plan, suggesting the parties were unable to agree on the best way forward.

"It is time for the international community to support the Palestinian plan to obtain membership for the state of Palestine on the 1967 borders because this approach will preserve the peace process and the two-state solution," Erakat told AFP.

He rejected any attempt to "equate" the Palestinian and Israeli sides and criticised any suggestion that the two parties were equally to blame for the stalemate in negotiations, which have been on hold since September 2010.

The negotiations broke down shortly after they began when a partial Israeli settlement freeze expired. Israel declined to renew the freeze and the Palestinians say they will not hold talks while Israel builds on land they want for a future state.

Israel had no immediate comment on the Quartet talks, which had been billed as likely the last meeting of the grouping before the Palestinians seek UN membership when the General Assembly meets in September.

In Washington, a senior official in President Barack Obama's administration, acknowledged the "gaps" that remained between the two sides.

"We're realistic about the gaps, we know that more needs to be done, but ultimately it's up to the parties to make the tough decisions," the official said on condition of anonymity.

The source added that there is an urgent need to "find a way to resume direct negotiations without delay or preconditions and to begin with a preparatory phase of talks to maximise chances of success."