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Blair's next job could be Mideast peace envoy

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Bush administration wants British Prime Minister Tony Blair to be a Middle East peace envoy when he leaves office next week, senior U.S. officials said.

The White House is talking to Blair about taking up the role for the Mideast Quartet once he steps down as prime minister on June 27, the officials said.

The idea, which the officials said is endorsed by President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, has been discussed with the British government and other members of the Quartet, which comprises the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.

The United States has talked with Israelis and Palestinians, both of whom seemed interested in the proposal, the officials said.

Assistant Secretary David Welch, the U.S. State Department's top envoy for the Middle East, is in London this week and has met with Blair.

If the U.S. proposal is accepted, Blair would focus on ways to strengthen Palestinian institutions for a future Palestinian state.

The political negotiations on final status issues would be left to Rice, the officials said.

Downing Street has refused comment on the reports, The Associated Press reported Thursday.

The last envoy for the Quartet, former World Bank President James Wolfensohn, worked primarily with the Palestinians, focusing on boosting the economy in Gaza following the Israeli withdrawal in 2005.

Wolfensohn left his job in frustration in March 2005, claiming the international boycott of the Palestinian government following the January 2005 election of Hamas made it impossible to do his job. (Watch as CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney interviews Wolfensohn )

A senior European diplomat in the Quartet said Blair's credibility in the Middle East is questionable, and that makes it unclear if he would make a good candidate for the job.

The diplomat believes Blair had accomplished little during his last trip to the Middle East in December.

In addition, Blair is seen as co-author of the Iraq war, and is blamed in part for the desperate situation there. "His legacy in the Middle East is not a good one," the diplomat said.

Rumors have circulated that Blair is being considered for other jobs as well, including president of the European Commission, Group of Eight envoy for Africa and G-8 envoy for the Mideast, the diplomat said.

Final Cabinet meeting

Blair pledged "unswerving support" for his successor Gordon Brown at an emotional last meeting of his Cabinet on Thursday, and he said he was leaving at the right time. The session ended with a standing ovation, AP reported.

Treasury chief Brown, who will take over as prime minister, in turn paid tribute to Blair -- with whom he has had a sometimes fractious relationship.

"Whatever we achieve in the future will be because we are standing on your shoulders," AP reported Brown as saying.

Blair was presented with a painting of Chequers, the traditional country residence of British prime ministers, as a going-away present.

Lawmakers paid tribute to Blair for his achievements in both foreign and domestic policy. Both Iraq and Afghanistan were mentioned, the spokesman said, and Blair's colleagues praised him for making those "difficult decisions."

Blair spoke at the end of the meeting, and thanked his staff, the civil service and his colleagues for their support during his decade at Downing Street.

Mideast summit

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will attend a four-way summit Monday sponsored by Egypt and intended to boost moderate Palestinian leaders like President Mahmoud Abbas, a spokesman for Olmert said Thursday. (Full story)

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak invited Olmert, Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah II to attend the summit Monday afternoon in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

The meeting comes in the wake of the takeover of Gaza by Hamas and Abbas' decision to declare an emergency, dissolve the national unity government dominated by Hamas and appoint a new emergency government.

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