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Crowley said Clinton consulted with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judah, a key Arab peace broker, and Tony Blair, the former British prime minister who represents the diplomatic Quartet.
The Quartet -- composed of the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union -- could issue a statement in support of direct peace talks that have been suspended since December 2008.
"We believe that, if we reach the point we hope to arrive at, that... members of the Quartet will demonstrate their support for the process; we will demonstrate our support for the process." Crowley said.
"And we will outline... specifics of where we go from here," the spokesman said.
"We're not at that point yet. There are still details that we're working through. We're not going to do the negotiation in public," Crowley said.
"We want to make sure that the parties have the right understanding of what they're agreeing to and... we're able to move this process forward with the appropriate set of expectations," he added.
Israel says it is prepared to enter direct negotiations, but without preconditions, such as a halt to Jewish settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinians have been standing by demands that have held up talks for months, namely a complete freeze of Israeli settlement activity and set guidelines regarding the negotiation of final borders.
The Palestinians also want a set timeline for an agreement addressing all the core issues of the conflict that does not exceed 24 months.
They reluctantly agreed to indirect negotiations in May following months of pressure from the Quartet, but they say they have achieved little.
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The Quartet -- composed of the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union -- could issue a statement in support of direct peace talks that have been suspended since December 2008.
"We believe that, if we reach the point we hope to arrive at, that... members of the Quartet will demonstrate their support for the process; we will demonstrate our support for the process." Crowley said.
"And we will outline... specifics of where we go from here," the spokesman said.
"We're not at that point yet. There are still details that we're working through. We're not going to do the negotiation in public," Crowley said.
"We want to make sure that the parties have the right understanding of what they're agreeing to and... we're able to move this process forward with the appropriate set of expectations," he added.
Israel says it is prepared to enter direct negotiations, but without preconditions, such as a halt to Jewish settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinians have been standing by demands that have held up talks for months, namely a complete freeze of Israeli settlement activity and set guidelines regarding the negotiation of final borders.
The Palestinians also want a set timeline for an agreement addressing all the core issues of the conflict that does not exceed 24 months.
They reluctantly agreed to indirect negotiations in May following months of pressure from the Quartet, but they say they have achieved little.
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