UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has arrived in Baghdad on a surprise visit.

He is holding talks with Iraq's prime minister and president as part of a tour of the Middle East.

He has also been to Turkey and to Egypt for talks with President Hosni Mubarak.

Mr Blair said earlier that the region faced a "critical moment of decision".

Resolving the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians was crucial to stability, he said.

The prime minister's Iraq trip comes amid reports that gunmen wearing police uniforms had kidnapped dozens of people after storming a branch of the Red Crescent in central Baghdad.

It also follows calls from Iraqi prime minister Nouri Maliki for former members of Saddam Hussein's army to return to the military.

Talks

Mr Blair is expected to discuss plans to hand over the last two British-controlled provinces to local authorities in talks with Mr Maliki and President Jalal Talabani.

Ministers hope the handover will be completed by the spring.

Baghdad is the third stop on Mr Blair's Middle East tour during which he hopes to kick-start the peace process.

He flew to Baghdad from the Egyptian capital Cairo where he said it was important that the international community offered support to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Mr Blair said the president needed help to build his authority and his ability to raise Palestinian living standards.

After arriving in Baghdad by RAF Hercules transport plane, the prime minister was taken to the heavily-protected Green Zone by helicopter.

Situation 'difficult'

Mr Blair last visited the country six months ago and BBC correspondent Andrew North said he will find it in a worse situation.

Sectarian violence is currently claiming as many as 100 lives a day and last month's report by the Iraq Study Group, led by former US secretary of state James Baker, described the situation in Iraq as "grave and deteriorating".

Aides said Mr Blair wanted to offer his support for Mr Maliki and his government.

But the prime minister's official spokesman said that Mr Blair recognized that the situation was "very difficult".

"We recognize that for any government facing the challenges that there are in Iraq, they are huge, and the prime minister wants to show his support," he said.

Handover plans

Mr Blair will discuss the progress of Operation Sinbad, in which British and Iraqi troops have been scouring the neighborhoods of the city of Basra to clear them of insurgents ready for the handover to Iraqi authorities.

Speaking earlier in Cairo, Mr Blair offered words of warning on the prospect of an increased role for Iran in the region.

He accused Iran of wanting to "derail" peace prospects and said it was "difficult to see" how it could be a constructive player in the region.

And speaking in the Turkish capital Ankara, Mr Blair had said nothing was more important in the Middle East and the rest of the world than the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

He believes the most important thing is to establish "a fully functioning authority" which will "start to create the structures on the Palestinian side that then allow a negotiation for peace with Israel to go forward".

The prime minister also said he was a "strong supporter" of Turkey's bid to join the European Union.

He said it could play an important role as part of an "arc of moderation" in the Muslim world and as a bridge between Europe and the region.

Mr Blair will also go to Israel, the Palestinian territories and the United Arab Emirates during his visit.

Photo caption

Tony Blair, the British prime minister