Outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair will be named today as special envoy for the international diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East with a portfolio focused on Palestinian economic and political reform, a senior US official said.

Members of the Quartet, the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia, will give their public blessing and announce that Blair has agreed to take the job in simultaneous statements from their capitals and New York, the official said.

The official, who insisted on anonymity because the statements were still being drafted, spoke after being briefed on a meeting of Quartet representatives held earlier yesterday in Jerusalem.
 
Three US officials said on Monday that discussions on naming Blair to the post had been completed and the issue was on the Quartet's agenda yesterday.

The senior US official said the Quartet had agreed on a job description for the special envoy position that Blair will assume shortly after leaving office today, the senior official said, disputing reports in the Israeli media that Russia was holding up an official announcement.

"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."

Blair's new job, will deal primarily with helping the Palestinian Authority build political institutions and will not, at least at first, involve direct mediation or negotiation between the Palestinians and Israelis, the official said, noting that quartet itself "retains the right to be the interlocutor between the Israelis and Palestinians."

The post is expected to be unpaid but will come with staff and logistical support from the quartet, as did a previous similar position held by former World Bank chief James Wolfensohn, who had a narrower job description.

"The job is not just about economics, but it should not be mistaken as a mediator or negotiator," the official said.

The official said that after the Quartet announcement, President George W. Bush would likely address Blair's appointment at a speech he is to give a mosque and Islamic center in Washington.
 
Blair gave his clearest indication yet that he wants the job, saying in London that he was ready, in principle, to try to help bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Different reactions

Some European diplomats have questioned Blair's ability to garner broad Palestinian and Arab public support because of his leading role in the Iraq War and his close relationship with Bush.

Many Arabs see the Bush administration as biased against the Palestinians. Blair, who steps down after 10 years in power, has frequently urged Bush to take a more assertive role in trying to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would support Blair's appointment as Quartet envoy, aides said.

However, Hamas said Blair was not welcome because of his role in supporting US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

(China Daily via agencies June 27, 2007)