The United States has called for a new "road map for peace" for the Middle East to be postponed until after Israel's general election on 28 January.

International mediators from the so-called Quartet - the US, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations - are due to gather in Washington on Friday for an informal meeting on the Middle East.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell announced the American position after talks with EU foreign ministers on Wednesday in Washington.

The Israeli election race is well under way

The EU for has argued that the peace plan, which calls for a Palestinian state alongside Israel, should be revealed before the election to make Israeli voters aware of the options.

"We think it would be wiser in this instance for us to continue work on the road map and wait until after the Israeli election is over," Mr Powell said.

"It's just a matter of weeks until that is resolved and then we will engage with all the parties."

Looking forward to the meeting of the Quartet, the US secretary of state said that leaders would "come as close as [they] can to agreement on the road map".

Enlightening voters

But, speaking for the EU, Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller said that revealing the plan now would put Israeli voters in a better position to decide.

"It is very important, in the European Union's opinion, that the voters of Israel know what the world thinks about the situation," he said.

"Being an enlightened voter means that you also have the information on which you build your vote."

At their summit in Copenhagen last week, EU leaders voiced the hope that the "road map for peace" would be adopted at this Friday's meeting in Washington.

The Danish minister was backed by Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat who argued that the peace plan would give Israeli voters a clearer choice.

"The US decision not to declare the road map... will lead to a political vacuum," Mr Erekat told Reuters news agency.

The map is expected to lay down a procedure under which Israelis and Palestinians meet certain reciprocal commitments leading to security for Israel on the one side and a state for the Palestinians on the other by 2005.