Associated Press

Monday, July 23, 2007 (Amman)

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair began his foray into Mideast peacemaking in the Jordanian capital on Monday, as British Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells called for a systematic approach to revive talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Howells and Blair, a newly appointed envoy for the international Middle East Quartet, composed of the US, the UN, the EU and Russia, held separate talks with Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdul-Ilah al-Khatib on ways to resolve the long-simmering Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
''It needs a systematic effort and the good will of all sides,'' Howells told reporters following talks with al-Khatib.
''The biggest task is to involve all of the major players,'' he said.

Howells called Blair the right person to spearhead efforts aimed at breaking the peace deadlock.

''It will be an extremely difficult task for Blair. But if anyone can achieve success, it's going to be Tony Blair. His experience in Northern Ireland will be extremely crucial,'' Howells said, referring to Blair's pivotal role in resolving the conflict between Catholics and Protestants.
Few details have emerged from Blair's meeting in Amman. The former British prime minister was scheduled to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday.

Positive contributions
Howells said some nations were making positive contributions to the peace effort, but warned that others needed to improve their efforts.''Some countries, like Jordan are determined to play the role in building peace, while we have to convince other countries that don't seem to be doing that at the moment, like Iran and Syria, that they must play a part in building the peace as well,'' Howells said. Jordan and Egypt are the only Arab countries that have made peace with Israel.
Blair's visit comes amid a push to bring Palestinians and Israelis back to the negotiation table and renewed US commitment to see an independent Palestinian state established US President George W Bush called last week for an international peace conference on the Middle East, saying the meeting would bring together Israel, Palestinians and their neighbors to discuss ways to end their conflict. Since then, there has been a flurry of diplomatic activity. Jordan's King Abdullah II, a key US ally, is scheduled to meet with Bush in Washington on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the Jordanian foreign minister and his Egyptian counterpart, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, are due in Israel to formally present an Arab peace initiative, which envisions full Arab recognition of Israel in return for lands the Jewish state captured in the 1967 Middle East war

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