A Conversation with Tony Blair

Mideast peace envoy Tony Blair, citing "slender and real grounds for hope," says an opportunity exists to advance negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians but urged swift and concerted action by international and local actors to restore credibility to the flagging peace talks. Blair, the former British prime minister, has served for the past eighteen months as envoy for the Mideast Quartet, consisting of the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia. He told a December 3 meeting at the Council on Foreign Relations he has been encouraged by some security and economic improvements in the West Bank, controlled by the Palestinian Authority, but he said broader efforts to improve living conditions must accompany the peace process if it is to make meaningful progress.