Tony Blair to step down as Middle East peace envoy
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London: Former British prime minister Tony Blair will step down from his post as representative of the Middle East Quartet in early June, a source close to the former British prime minister said.
Blair, who has held the position for eight years, wrote to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to inform him that he would be leaving the post, the source said.
Blair, according to the source, remains committed to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a peace process in cooperation with the international community and believes that he can continue aiding these efforts without a formal role.
The source did not offer a reason for Blair's decision.
The Quartet - the US, the European Union, the UN and Russia - was formed more than a decade ago to promote an agreement between Israelis and Palestinians based on the two-state solution.
Envoys from the Quartet members planned to convene on Wednesday in Brussels to discuss how to continue promoting economic development, security and legal structures to facilitate the establishment of a Palestinian state, the source said.
