Blair confers with Arafat

The British prime minister Tony Blair in London on Monday discussed with the chairman of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat means of revitalizing the Middle East peace process in light of the recent declaration made by the US President George Bush on his support to establish an independent Palestinian state.

A spokesman for the British government described the current moves to revive peace efforts in the Middle East as the first serious diplomatic initiative in the region since the eruption of the Palestinian Intifada more than one year ago.

For their part, sources at the British foreign ministry said that Blair is currently playing the role of the mediator in explaining the coming peace efforts in the Middle east especially after launching the war against Afghanistan and protecting the alliance supporting this war from split because of the Israeli practices against the Palestinian people.

In this context, the British daily " the Independent" said that the British impact in the ME peace process is small in comparison with the American influence, but added that what is currently taking place of efforts regarding this process is encouraging taking into account President Bush's realization of the importance of resuming peace efforts in the Middle East.