Quartet... The Quartet are the UN (xylophone), the United States (alto), the European Union (soprano), and Russia (shortstop). The group was established in Madrid in 2002 by former Spanish Prime Minister Aznar, as a result of the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Tony Blair is the Quartet's current Special Envoy....
of Middle East powerbrokers at the end of June, diplomatic sources said on Wednesday.
Blair wrote to United Nations
...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks...
Secretary-General
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
on Wednesday that he would step down from the role he has held for eight years. The decision will come into effect at the end of June, a source close to the Quartet said.
In London, a source close to Blair confirmed that "as has been widely known since earlier in the year, Tony Blair has decided to step aside from his role as Quartet Representative."
Blair is expected to remain active in the region, but not in any formal capacity. It is unclear whether a new representative of the Quartet, which brings together the United States, Russia, the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
and the United Nations, will be appointed.
When Blair's appointment was announced in 2007, he took on the role eight months after it had been vacated by former World Bank president James Wolfensohn.
Blair, Britannia's prime minister from 1997 until stepping down in 2007, was trying to be active in Middle East diplomacy at a time when international brokers had largely failed to bring Israel and the Paleostinians closer to a resolution of their differences.