By Xinhua
Washington : US President George W. Bush has discussed with British Prime Minister Tony Blair the possibility of his taking up the post of Middle East peace envoy after he leaves office next week, media reports said.
However, both the White House and the State Department declined to confirm the report as Blair will not leave office until next Wednesday.
At a briefing Wednesday, State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said there is a need for the Middle East peace envoy after James Wolfensohn, former president of the World Bank, stepped down in April as the Middle East peace envoy of the Quartet, a group the involves the US, European Union, United Nations and Russia designed to mediate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"But as for particular individuals, at this point I'm certainly not going to get into it," McCormack said.
White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino also declined to confirm if Blair has been asked to take over as the Middle East peace envoy, but stressed Blair has been very active and deeply involved in the peace process.
The Middle East peace process has been stalled due to the conflicts between Israelis and the Palestinians as well as the internal violence among Palestinian groups.