Former British PM Blair quits as Middle East envoy

Tony Blair resigned Wednesday as the Quartet diplomatic group’s envoy, his office said, with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict he worked to end as troubled as ever.
Events on the ground showed how far away is peace — although the goal of a two-state solution remains.
The situation on the ground is “not sustainable,” EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini warned.
The US State Department acknowledged the Quartet’s goal of a two state solution has not been met.
“So until that’s achieved, you know, I don’t think any of us can say that we’ve succeeded,” State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said.
Mogherini called on the two sides to resume peace talks.
The last ones fell apart in April 2014. And prospects for their renewal seem bleak with a lack of trust between the sides exacerbated by the formation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new hardline coalition.
Blair tendered his resignation in a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, an official in Blair’s office told AFP.
Sources close to Blair said he would step down officially next month.
Blair was appointed to the unpaid Quartet position in 2007 to support the Palestinian economy and institutions in preparation for eventual statehood.