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.
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
Japan yesterday heralded the coming-of-age of Japanese Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing. The nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk-and-lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life. “Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming-of-age ceremony,” Hisahito said. “I will fulfill my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.” Although the emperor has a daughter — Princess Aiko — the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only
RSS