Blair: 'We must seize moment to push on with peace process'

Tony Blair yesterday urged Israel and the Palestinians to "seize the moment" created by the terrorist attacks in America to forge a permanent peace in the Middle East.

After 90 minutes of talks in Downing Street with Yasser Arafat, president of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Mr Blair telephoned Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, last night and appealed to him to "push forward" the peace process by entering a new round of talks. Mr Blair is expected to meet Mr Sharon in London early next month.

His discussions with the PLO leader left Mr Blair convinced that the Palestinians are serious about meaningful negotiations and that international pressure now needs to be applied to Israel. "If there is going to be an agreement, it has to be between two sides," said Mr Blair's spokesman.

The Prime Minister's dual aim in yesterday's highly symbolic meeting with Mr Arafat was to reassure Muslims and Arabs that the war on terrorism was not being waged against Islam, and to kickstart the Middle East peace process.

He said any settlement would have to include the creation of "a viable Palestine state as part of a negotiated and agreed settlement which guarantees peace and security for Israel".

Mr Blair, who will also press President George Bush not to lose his recently revived interest in the Middle East, denied London and Washington were now giving the region priority because of the 11 September attacks.

The Prime Minister insisted that fresh American proposals were being worked up before the atrocities and, while refusing to give details, said they could now form the basis of a new push for peace.

But the Prime Minister's official spokesman played down the prospect of an early breakthrough. "We won't go to a new process overnight," he said.

Yesterday Mr Blair gave Mr Arafat the full treatment usually reserved for leaders of recognised states, including a warm greeting on the doorstep of Number 10.

The two men shook hands in the lobby, appropriately standing in front of a framed painting of New York, bearing the words, "Remember the Heroes", with the twin towers of the World Trade Centre intact. The official badges of the New York fire and police departments were pinned to the picture.

At their joint press conference in the ornate Pillared Room, Mr Blair said he and Mr Arafat were in "complete agreement that now is the right time to reinvigorate the Middle East peace process". He recognised that Palestinian violence had "reduced significantly" in the past week.

Mr Blair insisted it was a case of "when" not "whether" the peace process was relaunched. "The only question to my mind is how much more bloodshed and violence and bitterness do we generate before we do what we know we are going to have to do in order to get this issue settled."

A sprightly Mr Arafat, who repeatedly corrected and rebuked his interpreter and appeared to believe he spoke better English than him, said: "I say it is time to reinvigorate the peace process ...We are not asking for the moon. We are asking for the United Nations resolutions to be implemented." He said President Bush's statement about the Palestinians' right to establish their own state should have been made before 11 September.

The PLO leader said Mr Blair had a "very special role" to play in the Middle East because of his influence in the European Union and his special relationship with President Bush.