Posted on 06/26/2007 2:58:14 PM PDT by Esther Ruth
June 26, 2007
Blair set to clinch job as world’s man in the Middle East
Tom Baldwin in Washington, Greg Hurst and Philip Webster
Tony Blair’s nomination for the post of international envoy in the Middle East is likely to be confirmed as early as today despite grumbles from Europe and last-minute wrangles over his job description.
Sources in London and Washington indicated yesterday that the announcement will be made if agreement is reached between the so-called “Quartet” of powers – America, Europe, Russia and the United Nations – which oversee the Middle East peace process.
Mr Blair’s nomination has been pushed by Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, and – to a lesser extent – the White House, in behind-the-scenes negotiations over recent months.
The prospects of Mr Blair being confirmed in a new post before he leaves Downing Street tomorrow have hardened in recent days. Yesterday his farewell continued with his last Commons statement, reporting on the EU Brussels summit, and his final appearance as Prime Minister before the Parliamentary Labour Party.
The abdication: a portrait of Blair's last days On the road with Tony Blair pictures to chronicle the PM's last days in power
Related Internet Links The Blair years: video, pictures and analysis Interactive Blair Timeline BlairTube Background All about Iraq? Don’t you believe it The past decade a disaster? I’ll give Blair six and a half out of ten Related Links There’s too much haste about Blair the peacemaker Tony Blair’s thoroughly modern journey Arnie: I’ll back Blair to halt global warming Last week British diplomats expressed irritation over some apparently premature leaks from the State Department about the likelihood of Mr Blair taking up the envoy job.
At the same time, a close ally pointed out that he was reluctant to do it unless there was a real prospect of a “political process” in peace talks which would give him the opportunity to use his “mediation skills set”.
The Quartet’s previous envoy, James Wolfensohn, the former president of the World Bank, focused largely on economic issues in Gaza and resigned in frustration last year.
But Sean McCormack, the State Department spokesman, has emphasised that Mr Blair’s “job description” would be an expansion of the “very discrete, circumscribed way” in which Mr Wolfensohn had been forced to operate.
He said that in the envoy’s role of building up the institutions of a future Palestinian state, it “would also be important to help the Palestinians build up political institutions”.
Mr Blair is understood to be keen to take on the role this year after a summer break because he views finding a solution to the Middle East crisis as central to tackling global ex-tremism. It would also offer him a second chance with many Muslims in the region who loathe him as ally-in-chief to President Bush over the war in Iraq. Speculation that Jona-than Powell, currently Downing Street’s chief of staff, could accompany him in the new position was yesterday discounted by sources in No 10.
Although Russian and EU leaders are unlikely to block Mr Blair’s appointment, they view him as a tainted figure for having led Britain into the Iraq war, as well as failing to call for a ceasefire in Israel’s conflict in Lebanon last year.
Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, is said to be particularly sceptical about Mr Blair’s appointment, while Kofi An-nan, the former UN Secretary-General, is known to have fa-voured Joschka Fischer, the ex-German Foreign Minister, for the job as Middle East envoy.
According to Berlin, the German Government was not informed about the sensitive appointment, even though Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the Foreign Minister, represents the EU in the Quartet.
“I cannot imagine how Blair, as one of the main protagonists of the Iraq war, wants to gain confidence in the Middle East,” said Martin Schulz, chairman of the Social Democratic group in the European Parliament.
In the Commons yesterday, Mr Blair claimed that he had helped Britain to return to a leadership role in Europe.
Dismissing calls by the Conservatives and some prominent Labour backbenchers for a referendum on the new treaty, Mr Blair hailed a success for his attempts to reengage with Europe after the confrontation-al tone of Margaret Thatcher and John Major.
Later, in exchanges with MPs, Mr Blair tried to embarrass Mr Cameron by making an unusual plea to the Tories to abandon their sceptical position on Europe, calling it a “virus” infecting the party.
Well, Tony Blair has done fine work in helping Britain to surrender to the European Union; maybe he can convince Israel to surrender to her friendly arab neighbors...
Deal to name Blair as Middle East envoy delayed
Tue Jun 26, 2007 6:19 PM EDT
By Adam Entous
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Western powers struggled on Tuesday to finalize a role for outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair as Middle East envoy in their bid to revive peace prospects after Islamist Hamas’s takeover of the Gaza Strip.
A statement from the so-called Quartet mediators — the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations — was delayed until at least Wednesday by Russian foot-dragging, diplomats said.
“Stay tuned,” U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters with a smile as she flew home after a 48-hour trip to Paris, when asked if Blair was about to be named Quartet envoy.
“I certainly hope that this role is going to be filled because I think it is very important,” Rice said.
A U.S. official in Washington, who asked not to be named, said Blair’s appointment was in the final stages of consultation. “We would expect that he would be named as early as tomorrow.”
The EU’s Middle East envoy, Marc Otte, told reporters after the group met in Jerusalem that Blair was the only candidate under consideration for the post but that the Quartet was awaiting final approval from Russia.
“The deal is not done,” Otte said. The Russian envoy had to consult with his superiors, he added.
In London, a spokesman for Blair’s Downing St office said: “It is by no means a done deal yet.” Blair steps down as prime minister on Wednesday.
Relations between London and Moscow have been sour over Britain’s probe of a murder in London of a former Soviet agent, but diplomats said further talks may allow a deal to go through.
The United States and Israel want to isolate Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which the Islamists seized by force two weeks ago. But the West wants to bolster the emergency government that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas formed in the occupied West Bank after he sacked a Hamas-led cabinet, and jump-start peace talks with him.
‘DIVIDE AND CONQUER’
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized what he called the “divide and conquer” policy that has resulted in a split with Hamas in control of Gaza and Abbas’s secular Fatah movement in control of the West Bank.
“A divided Palestine is a problem for Israel and the region,” Lavrov said in Tel Aviv.
At issue at the meeting in Jerusalem was how sweeping a mandate to grant Blair, diplomats said.
The previous envoy focused mainly on economic issues rather than day-to-day negotiations aimed at reviving talks on Palestinian statehood.
Rice said the Quartet envisaged Blair focusing on building the institutions for a Palestinian state.
Otte said that “if there is going to be a Palestinian state it is very important to build the capacity of the institutions for this state to be a viable one.” Blair’s mandate could be expanded later, Otte said.
Blair gave his clearest indication yet that he wants the job, saying in London that he was ready, in principle, to try to help bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“I think anybody who cares about greater peace and stability in the world knows that a lasting and enduring resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian issue is essential and, as I have said on many occasions, I would do whatever I could to help such a resolution come about,” Blair told reporters.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Blair in a telephone conversation he would support him “fully” if he were named the Quartet envoy, a statement from Olmert’s office said.
Abbas also supports Blair’s appointment, aides said.
But some Quartet diplomats have raised questions about Blair’s ability to garner broad Palestinian and Arab public support because of his leading role in the Iraq war and his close relationship with U.S. President George W. Bush.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhmoum said Blair was not welcome in the envoy post because he supported “the Zionist occupation’s terrorism and massacres against our people.”
(Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed in Washington, Katherine Baldwin in London, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza and Alastair Macdonald and Haitham al-Tamimi in Ramallah)
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