• English Site
• > World
• > Middle East

Quartet Gathers in Lisbon

Blair Debuts as Middle East Envoy

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair formally takes up his new position as special envoy for the Middle East Quartet Thursday when he chairs its meeting in Lisbon -- the first since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip last month.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has had a three week break after leaving 10 Downing Street. Not long to relax after ten years in the top job in Britain -- but now he is turning to a position both bigger and smaller than his previous role. His stage is the Middle East, but his offical remit is confined to helping the Palestinians build up their government institutions and economy.

Blair starts his new job as Middle East Quartet envoy Thursday by chairing the group's meeting in Lisbon. The Quartet -- the European Union, the United States, Russia and the United Nations -- is hoping to pave the way for new peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

The talks in Portugal, which currently holds the EU presidency, will bring together US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado said he hoped the meeting would give "a new boost" to the stalled peace process.

The Quartet is expected to endorse a plan proposed earlier this week by US President George W. Bush to hold a peace conference later in the year, which would involve the US, Israel and some of its Arab neighbors.

Before the meeting kicked off, Rice hailed Blair's skills and defended the decision to limit his mandate to helping the Palestinians develop their infrastructure and economy. "This is a very skilled, respected and historic figure … who is absolutely dedicated to democracy, to building a better Middle East," she said, speaking on board a plane heading to Lisbon. And she added that his role "is something that is completely complementary and if we all work together, and there is plenty to do, perhaps we can finally deliver."

Thursday's gathering will be the first meeting of the Quartet since radical Islamic group Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip from Fatah in June, effectively splitting the Palestinians into two territories and administrations. The West only recognizes the moderate administration led by President Mahmoud Abbas and sees the split with Hamas as an opportunity to push the peace process forward.

On Wednesday Abbas said that he intended to call early elections and he harshly denounced Hamas for staging "a coup" against him in the Gaza Strip and provoking Israel and Egypt to seal Gaza's borders. He said "Hamas is committing capital crimes, bloody crimes against our people every day," adding that "even the devil cannot match their lies."

smd/reuters/ap