April 17 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. officials will join representatives of the European Union, the United Nations and Russia in a special meeting seeking to rescue a U.S.-sponsored ``road map'' for an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement, the Financial Times said, citing EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

U.S. President George W. Bush has said he supports Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to retain some West Bank settlements while withdrawing all settlers from the Gaza Strip in an accord that leads to the creation of a Palestinian state.

Sharon's plan differs from a U.S.-sponsored ``road map'' that calls for Israel to withdraw from land occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. The road map was backed by the ``quartet'' of the U.S., the United Nations, the EU and Russia. The UN, the EU and Russia, while welcoming Israel's plan to withdraw, said Israel must take measures that go beyond the Gaza pullout.

Solana told an informal meeting of European foreign ministers in Tullamore, Ireland that the meeting could take place in Berlin on April 28 where U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell would be attending a conference, the paper said. The group will also start negotiations for Israel's ``disengagement'' from Gaza, the paper said.

More than 7,000 Israelis and 1.3 million Palestinians live in Gaza, which is on the Mediterranean Sea between southern Israel and northern Egypt. The West Bank, between Israel and Jordan, has about 220,000 Israelis and 2.5 million Palestinians.

(Financial Times, 4-17 6)

To contact the reporter on this story: Nandini Sukumar in London at nsukumar@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 17, 2004 10:10 EDT