WASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) - Middle East peace brokers urged the Palestinian unity government on Wednesday to support President Mahmoud Abbas' efforts to negotiate with Israel and said it would be judged by its actions and not just its makeup.

The quartet -- consisting of the United States, the United Nations, Russia and the European Union -- said an international aid embargo would remain until three conditions were met -- to recognize Israel, agree to past accords and renounce violence.

"The quartet expressed its expectation that the unity government will act responsibly, demonstrate clear and credible commitment to the quartet principles, and support the efforts of President Abbas to pursue a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," said the statement.

"The commitment of the new government in this regard will be measured not only on the basis of its composition and platform, but also its actions," said the statement.

The new government, comprising Islamist Hamas and the more moderate Fatah faction of President Mahmoud Abbas, was sworn in last weekend after months of negotiation.

The quartet said it hoped the formation of the new government would ensure calm and lead to a drop in violence in the Palestinian territories.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be traveling to the Middle East this weekend, shuttling between Israel and the Palestinian territories to try to get both sides closer to resuming stalled peace negotiations.

The quartet expressed its strong support for Rice's efforts to facilitate discussions between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Last month, Rice hosted a meeting in Jerusalem between Abbas and Olmert but the outcome produced modest results, including a commitment to meet again, which they did a few weeks ago.

Underscoring divisions within the quartet over how to deal with the new government, it took two days to agree on the statement after a conference call was held on Monday to discuss what their strategy should be with the new authority.

Russia would like the aid embargo that was imposed more than a year ago by the quartet to be lifted and has said it will have contact with all members of the new government, regardless of whether they belong to Hamas or not.

Other quartet members, including the United States, have said they will be open to dealing with non-Hamas members of the government who have supported the three quartet conditions.

That marks a shift for the United States. It sided previously with Israel, which has decided to shun the government entirely.

During their telephone call, the quartet agreed to extend for three months a temporary funding mechanism set up to get aid to the Palestinians while bypassing the government. The group would also work on finding a "more sustainable international mechanism" to support the Palestinians, the statement said.

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