Tony Blair was named on Wednesday as the special envoy of the four major powers mediating Middle East peace shortly after stepping down as prime minister of Britain.
Blair’s new role in world politics was announced by the United Nations and United States after he ended a decade in power and was succeeded to the premiership by his former finance minister, Gordon Brown.
”Following discussions among the principals, today [Wednesday] the quartet dealing with the Middle East is announcing the appointment of Tony Blair as the quartet’s representative,” UN spokesperson Michele Montas told a press briefing.
Representatives of the quartet — the European Union, Russia, United Nations and United States — had discussed offering Blair a mandate at talks in Jerusalem on Tuesday.
Speaking before Parliament for the last time as prime minister, Blair said ”the absolute priority is to try to give effect to what is now the consensus across the international community that the only way of bringing stability and peace in the Middle East is a two-state solution”.
He said this means ”a state of Israel which is secure and confident in its security, and a Palestinian state that is not merely viable in terms of its territory but in terms of its institutions and governance”.
”I believe it is possible to do that but it will require a huge intensity of focus and work,” added Blair.
Blair made no mention of the envoy job, but Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern told RTE radio that the departing British prime minister told him personally on Friday that he ”was going to take it”.
And Ahern added: ”He thinks, and I believe he is right, that if you have hands-on, persistent engagement you can make real progress”. — AFP
