Blair Briefs Middle East Quartet in Lisbon

Editorial Note: The following news reports may be summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology.

Thursday July 19, 2007 13:17 by R. P. - International Middle East Media Center - IMEMC Editorial Group

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is addressing the Middle East Quartet in Portugal for the first time today in his new role as special Middle East envoy.

Blair's current remit is limited to advising Palestinians on issues of governance, infrastructure and the economy, though he is expected to push for an expanded mandate to take a leading role in peace negotiations with Israel.

The Quartet meeting, hosted by the current holder of the EU presidency, will be the first since the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip last month. The Quartet is comprised of representatives for the US, UK, EU and Russia. The talks will include US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Rice praised Blair's recent appointment to the post, stating, "There is a very good sense that his dedication now to helping the Palestinians build the institutions of statehood, to move forward on economic development and to press forward on helping to create a strong Palestinian partner is very well timed as we try to move forward toward the establishment of a state."

There has been criticism of Blair's limited mandate and many remain doubtful that he will be able to achieve a breakthrough in the currently stagnant peace process. Rice defended the definition of Blair's role as "something that is completely complimentary," continuing with the hope that "if we all work together, and there is plenty to do, perhaps we can finally deliver."

The Quartet is expected to support the call issued on Monday by US President George W. Bush for an international peace conference to be held later this year. It is unclear what such a conference would accomplish, as Israel has indicated that it is not yet willing to discuss final status issues such as borders, the right of return for 3.5 million Palestinian refugees or the status of Jerusalem. Palestinian officials, meanwhile, are eager to open final status negotiations.

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