Blair and Abbas discuss Palestinian unity govt
Source: Reuters
(Adds quotes from Blair and Abbas quotes) By Sophie Walker and Samia Nakhoul LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Wednesday it was possible to make progress in the Middle East with "sensible" members of the Islamist Hamas party. Blair met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for talks in London at which Abbas lobbied Britain to intercede with the United States to accept a unity government formed from his Fatah party and Hamas. "We are committed to the peace process. We hope that the government of national unity will be formed soon and we hope that the international community will stand by us," Abbas told a news conference following the two leaders' talks. Washington is cautious about the Palestinian power-sharing pact struck between Abbas and Hamas in the Saudi city of Mecca this month. It wants to continue to shun Hamas, which does not recognise Israel and won an election last year, and has promoted an international aid embargo against the Palestinian Authority. "It's far easier to deal with the situation in Palestine if there is a national unity government...I hope we can make progress, including even with the more sensible elements of Hamas," Blair told parliament earlier on Wednesday. Europeans regard the deal, which ended weeks of fighting between Hamas and Fatah in which more than 90 people died, as the best chance to avoid a Palestinian civil war. "President Abbas wants Prime Minister Blair to persuade the Americans that the Mecca deal is the only way out," the Palestinian ambassador in London, Manuel Hassassian, said. "If there is any European country that can influence the Americans it's going to be the U.K., given the fact that Blair is a personal friend of President (George W.) Bush." CENTRAL PRIORITY Blair told the news conference that the peace process remained a central priority for his Labour government and said he would do whatever he could to help, despite anticipating a difficult time in the months ahead. "I'm sure that with the right will in the international community we will find a way forward. There can't be anything more important," he said. Middle East mediators met on Wednesday in Berlin to thrash out differences over how to deal with the new government. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wants the Quartet, comprising the United Nations, Russia, the European Union and the United States, to play a bigger role in trying to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace moves, but she also wants to keep up pressure on Hamas. "It's not a question of ignoring the mandate of Hamas," Blair said earlier. "How can we take the Middle East peace process forward with a government that says 'We don't even recognise the right of Israel to exist'? That's the problem." The Quartet has said it will withhold judgment on the unity coalition until its policies are known, but urged any government to recognise Israel, renounce violence and abide by past Israeli-Palestinian agreements. The Mecca deal contained a vague promise to "respect" previous agreements. Abbas is due to travel to Berlin later on Wednesday for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel.
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