British Prime Minister Tony Blair sought consensus with US President George W. Bush to make peace in the Middle East an urgent priority, exploring whether the death of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat offers new avenues for restarting Israeli-Palestinian talks.
The two leaders met over dinner at the White House Thursday in an informal start of two days of talks about the pending elections in Iraq, Iran's nuclear ambitions, trans-Atlantic relations and Mideast peace. Bush greeted Blair on the South Lawn with a hearty handshake and patted the smiling British leader on the back before ushering him inside.
Blair has publicly declared that he is seeking a renewed US commitment to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The death of Palestinian leader Arafat on Thursday has created what many see as an opportunity for fresh efforts.
Briefing reporters during the flight to Washington, Blair's spokesman said the prime minister is expected to call on Bush to help shore up the Palestinian Authority. Palestinians need international help to improve security, bolster their economy and strengthen civil and political structures, he said.
Britain is concerned that Israel's proposed withdrawal from Gaza will create a destabilizing power vacuum if the Palestinians are not ready to assume control.
"For the Gaza pullout to work, you have to have a Palestinian Authority that can deal with it," Blair's official spokesman said on customary condition of not being identified by name. "Unless you have a Palestinian Authority capable of dealing with the consequences of the Gaza pullout, then going beyond that is going to be difficult."
Blair is Bush's closest overseas ally and loyally supported and sent troops for the US-led war in Iraq, in the face of widespread opposition in European capitals and at home.
Their friendship is unpopular among lawmakers in the governing Labour Party and a vast section of the British public. Many believe the prime minister doggedly follows Bush's lead without exerting any real influence.
With British general elections expected next year, and Labour members still criticizing the war, Blair needs to prove that his close alliance with Bush bears fruit. Many British lawmakers expect Bush to reward Blair's loyalty with a renewed commitment to the Mideast peace process.
Before flying to Washington, Blair said Thursday that "the relationship between Britain and the US is fantastically important."
"You know, I think there always is and always should be a situation in which the British prime minister and the American president get on well together. I regard it as part of my job," Blair said in an interview with GMTV, a morning news program.
Bush's refusal to sign the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, the incarceration of detainees at the US military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and what some regard as heavy-handed US military tactics in Iraq have contributed to the president's unpopularity in Britain. Lawmakers will watch closely for signs that Blair has shifted Bush on such issues during their talks.
But securing a commitment on the Middle East peace process would be the most obvious sign that Blair's voice is heard in Washington.
With Arafat gone from the scene, Blair was likely to urge Bush to seize the opportunity of a change in Palestinian leadership. Secretary of State Colin Powell said in an interview this week with the Financial Times that the US would face that opening ``aggressively."
Blair also will stress the importance of bolstering the Palestinian security and administrative apparatus, and insist that Israel's proposed withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank must be viewed as a first step toward Palestinian statehood.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was