Last update - 00:00 17/07/2007
Blair said 'satisfied' with mandate as Quartet's Mideast envoy
By News Agencies
Tony Blair is satisfied with the mandate he has been given as Middle East envoy, his spokesman said on Tuesday, seeking to put to rest a debate over whether the former British prime minister should take on a more direct peacemaking role.
Blair plans to make his first visit to Israel and the West Bank as the Quartet's special envoy next Monday, diplomatic sources said. His spokesman declined to comment.
Blair is representing the Quartet of Middle East mediators, which comprises the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations.
Blair was asked by the Quartet to raise funds for the Palestinians, help build their ruling institutions and promote economic development.
Senior Western diplomats who have met with Blair said he was seeking to play a broader political role that would give him more direct involvement in peacemaking.
However, a spokesman for Blair said, "Mr. Blair is satisfied that his mandate allows him to play the role that is essential to advancing prospects for peace in the Middle East, and that is what he is focusing on."
Blair held talks over lunch with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, the latest in a flurry of diplomatic efforts to revive Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.
Besides Solana, who planned to jet off to the Middle East as soon as his lunch with Blair had finished, the former British prime minister is due to meet with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, and Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU's external relations commissioner.
Senior diplomatic sources in Jerusalem said Blair would then travel to Israel on Monday for talks with leaders in Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah. The trip will last less than 48 hours.