Foreign ministers from the four powers heading a Middle East peace process may meet in the Egyptian town of Sharm el-Sheikh on March 1, RIA Novosti news agency quoted Russia's foreign ministry as saying on Wednesday.

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

The State Department on Tuesday reaffirmed its support for Israel, telling Haaretz that the U.S. viewed its relations with Jerusalem as "special" and lasting.

Meanwhile, U.S. special Middle East envoy George Mitchell has embarked on his second trip to the region to further President Barack Obama's pledge to work for Arab-Israeli peace, the State Department said on Tuesday.

Mitchell was in London on Tuesday for talks with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and would also visit the Turkish capital Ankara, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Israel and the West Bank before returning to Washington on March 4.

The State Department said he would join U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on March 2 for a donors' conference to rebuild Gaza after Israel's invasion last December.

U.S. officials said on Monday the United States would pledge over $900 million, but none of those funds would go to the Islamist group Hamas.