Blair to push forward Middle East roadmap at Washington talks

The Prime Minister is in Washington today for talks with President Bush, and Iran, Yasser Arafat's death and the state of the Middle East peace process are expected to top the agenda.

After flying into Andrews Air Force base last night, Tony Blair began his two-day visit with a one-on-one dinner with the president at the White House. According to the Prime Minister's Official Spokesperson, the question of Iran and its nuclear ambitions would be raised during what he expected to be a "wide-ranging talk".

Earlier this week, Tony Blair told the House of Commons that the Middle East peace process must have new momentum – and that could only be achieved with engagement from the US government which is in a unique position to help drive that process forward. No 10 said yesterday that the Prime Minister's visit would not only be an opportunity to push for more momentum from the US administration but it would send a signal of intent out to the Middle East.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters on Wednesday that the two leaders would also discuss the war on terrorism and the situation in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

The first visit from a government leader since George Bush's re-election one week ago, the White House has said that the visit would be seen in the context of reaching out to friends and allies, and the EU and NATO, in order to "promote development and progress" internationally.

A spokesperson for the administration said that, as Britain is one of America's closest allies and Tony Blair is one of America's greatest friends, the president looked forward to strengthening US cooperation with the UK and all of Europe.

Prior to Mr Blair's departure, Lib Dems foreign affairs spokesperson, Sir Menzies Campbell, called on him to impress upon President Bush the importance of making progress in the Middle East, of urgently addressing the problems of climate change, and of resolving the plight of British citizens at Guantanamo Bay.

“The Prime Minister constantly defines his relationship with the President in terms of Britain’s interests. The Prime Minister needs to show that these interests are indeed being served by his unequivocal support for the Bush Administration,” he added.

(gmcg)