Blair expresses hope before trip to Mideast
He said restrictions on his mandate and a ban on Hamas would not hinder his mission.
LISBON, Portugal - Tony Blair waded headlong into the murky world of Middle East peacemaking yesterday, dismissing concerns that he would fail like so many before him and announcing that he would travel to the region.
The former British prime minister brushed aside suggestions that his limited mandate as special envoy to the international diplomatic Quartet - and the group's refusal to deal with the hard-line Palestinian movement Hamas - would hamstring his mission.
"I'm nothing if not an optimist," Blair said after a meeting that brought together senior representatives from the Quarter's members - the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia. "I will probably have need for all that quality of optimism in this task ahead, but I am determined to try."
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said "a good deal of good luck and optimism" would be required to achieve peace.
Talks have sputtered since the second Palestinian uprising in 2001.
Blair gave no specifics on when he would make his first visit to the region, though it is expected in the coming days, and he planned to return later for a longer trip.
He said he intended to brief the Quartet for the first time in September. Israeli President Shimon Peres has said he would meet with Blair in Israel on Tuesday; there has been no confirmation from Blair.
In a statement after the Quartet's meeting, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the Israelis and Palestinians, as well as all states in the region, to work closely with Blair.
Blair pointed to his successful efforts to push for peace in Northern Ireland, another goal that had once appeared impossible.
"Things can change," he said. At the same time, he cautioned against raising false hopes.
"There is a sense that we can regain momentum," Blair said. "That's the crucial thing. And if we are able to regain that momentum, then a whole lot of things become possible, not least the fact that those people of peace can then feel that the force is with them and not with those who want conflict."
Despite Blair's enthusiasm, many believe his role is too limited because it involves only the developing of Palestinian institutions and their economy. He is also to deal only with moderate forces loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who is in charge in the West Bank after Hamas' seizure of the Gaza Strip last month.
Before the meeting, Rice and Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, rejected any dealings with Hamas.
"Hamas, I think, knows what is expected for international respectability," Rice told a news conference in Lisbon shortly before the Quartet principals met with Blair.
She said Hamas must recognize Israel's right to exist and renounce terrorism, and ruled out its participation in a peace meeting called by President Bush for the fall.
Peace Conference Could Be at U.N.
A Mideast peace conference called for by President Bush will likely be held in September on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York, the Egyptian foreign minister said yesterday.
Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit also said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would discuss the conference's agenda with Arab foreign ministers July 31 in Egypt.
"Contacts that took place between the Egyptians and Americans indicate that this conference will be held in September on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. But not necessarily in New York," Aboul Gheit said.
The State Department said no date had been set.
- Associated PressEndText
