Bush 'in envoy talks with Blair'

20/06/2007| IslamWeb

President Bush has spoken to UK PM Tony Blair about his becoming a Mid-East envoy, a White House official says.

Mr Bush and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice directly discussed the idea with Mr Blair, the official said.

The president would reportedly like him to be an envoy for the quartet of the US, European Union, UN and Russia.

The official spokesman for Mr Blair said "there is a lot of speculation about the prime minister's future and much of it is inaccurate".

The White House official told the BBC that the talks were preliminary, and did not have any comment on Mr Blair's reaction to the suggestion.

Mr Blair steps down as prime minister on 27 June, ending 10 years in Downing Street.

The White House official did not know if the president had discussed the idea with the other three members of the peace quartet.

PHOTO CAPTION

 President Bush and UK PM Tony Blair