LONDON: Former British prime minister Tony Blair has resigned as Middle East peace envoy, a role he has held for eight years since his departure from Downing Street.
Blair took up his role as Middle East envoy immediately after standing down as prime minister in 2007, Xinhua news agency reports quoting local media.
The position was created to mediate the Israel-Palestinian conflict, representing the United States, Russia, European Union (EU) and United Nations.
The former prime minister has written to UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon to forward his resignation.
Blair remains “fully committed to assisting the international community in its work with Israel and the Palestinians to bring about progress on the two-state solution“, the report quoted unnamed diplomatic sources as saying.
“He believes that he can best support these efforts through working with the key regional players, the US, the EU and others without any formal role,” the sources added.
It is believed that Blair will formally announce his resignation at a later time. –BERNAMA