Iran and Syria 'to blame' for Middle East crisis
Sunday, 16 July 2006 12:00 AM
Iran and Syria are to blame for the latest flare up in fighting in the Middle East, Tony Blair has said.
After refusing to place blame for the crisis in the lead up to this weekend's meeting of G8 leaders in St Petersburg, a bilateral meeting with US president George Bush appeared to change the prime minister's mind on the issue.
"The fact is, there are those in that region, notably Iran and Syria, who don't want this process of democratisation and peace and negotiations to succeed," Mr Blair said.
The escalation of violence in the region, which today saw a fifth day of bombing in Lebanon by Israeli forces, has dominated the talks.
News reports now claim that the trouble has caused a split of opinion in the G8, with the US backing Israel's actions, while other members claim that it has used excessive force.
Mr Bush has blamed the crisis on Hizbullah guerrillas, who captured two Israeli servicemen and fired rockets into Israel.
Many countries have been of the opinion that Israel's retaliation for the capture of two of its soldiers was disproportionate to the act. Mr Bush did however urged the Jewish state not to let civilian targets get caught up in the attacks.
"Our message to Israel is defend yourself but be mindful of the consequences, so we are urging restraint," he said.
Russia, the host of this year's summit, has taken a harder stance, accusing Israel of using the kidnappings as an excuse to "pursue wider goals".
A joint statement on the Middle East crisis is expected from the summit today, but a unified stance is expected to be a difficult one to reach.
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