Representatives from the four bodies comprising the Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators failed to reach an agreement on Tuesday regarding the mandate to be given to outgoing British prime minister Tony Blair, slated to become the Quartet's special regional envoy.

Representatives from the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations had met earlier in Jerusalem and discussed Blair's appointment for three hours.

Sources in Jerusalem reported that the four representatives could not reach an agreement because the U.S. and the UN supported the appointment, while Russia and the EU had reservations. The Russians feel that the appointment would serve to appease the Americans and the EU fears that its standing within the peace process would be compromised. Diplomatic sources reported that the EU especially fears the role of its foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, in the peace process, will be diminished.

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However, a senior Russian official said "if the Europeans accept [Blair's appointment], we will have no problem with it."

Political sources in Israel said Tuesday that the representatives are expected to come to an agreement and make a formal decision regarding Blair's appointment on Wednesday. However, they said, the scope of the envoy's authority still needs to be ironed out.

All the sides agree that Blair's position will be technical, not political, and focus primarily on helping the Palestinian Authority build political institutions, rehabilitating its security forces and implementing financial reforms. Blair will model his work after former envoy James Wolfensohn, who coordinated between Israel and the Palestinians on civil and financial matters prior to the 2005 Israeli pullout from Gaza.

Fahmi al-Zaarer, a spokesman for Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement, said the Palestinians would welcome Blair. "We believe that Mr. Blair's efforts would help ... revive the political process."

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed on Tuesday that he would cooperate with Blair if he was appointed.

Earlier Tuesday, a senior U.S. official said that Blair's appointment would be announced in simultaneous statements from from Washington, New York, Brussels and Moscow.

The official insisted on anonymity because the statements were still being drafted.

The official disputed earlier reports that Russia had objected to Blair's nomination and held up the appointment.

"The Russians are the least enthusiastic about creating the position and least enthusiastic about Blair, but they didn't object," the official said. "No one objected."

The Russian delegation did not object to Blair or the expanded role of the envoy position, but had not received instructions from Moscow on how to proceed, according to the official.

According to the official, the job description and statement on Blair were agreed to ad referendum, meaning the matter is settled but that all parties reserve the right to make minor changes to the documents.

Russia had initially objected to the appointment, and Blair has a tense relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Blair's appointment has been 150 percent approved," the Financial Times quoted a figure close to negotiations over Blair's new role as saying. "The Jerusalem meeting is all about arranging logistics, making final arrangements and getting the announcement out."

Heading into the meeting, UN spokesman said the envoys had no set agenda and would discuss recent developments and the way forward.

Speaking to reporters in London, Blair said: "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."

According to the U.K. newspaper The Guardian, Blair might be placed in charge of persuading Hamas to accept international demands that it recognize Israel, renounce violence, and accept previously-signed agreements.

Blair will step aside Wednesday after a decade in power, handing over the reigns of power to Chancellor Gordon Brown.