Bush, Blair to meet



By ALAN FREEMAN

Globe and Mail Update

London — Prime Minister Tony Blair announced on Friday that he will meet U.S. President George W. Bush on Monday and Tuesday in Northern Ireland to discuss the war in Iraq and the stalled Northern Ireland peace process.

Mr. Blair's office said that previous summits at Camp David and in the Azores had been helpful in developing the coalition's strategy on the military, diplomatic and humanitarian fronts. Also on the agenda will be the Middle East peace process.

The summit is also designed to help push forward the Northern Ireland peace process. Mr. Bush will also meet Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, and the three leaders will have discussions with political parties favoring the Good Friday peace agreement.

"It will be useful to get the U.S. President's support for our efforts" in the province, Mr. Blair said in the statement.

It will be the third face-to-face talks for Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair talk in just over three weeks.

The leaders met in the Azores on March 16, along with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, to announce the end of their diplomatic campaign seeking support for an attack on Iraq. Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair held private talks at the Camp David, Md., presidential retreat on March 27, more than a week after the war began.

Their latest summit comes amid progress by the U.S.-British coalition against Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime.

Thousands of frightened residents fled Baghdad on Friday and U.S. troops seized control of the capital's airport.

Mr. Blair has been pushing for the involvement of the United Nations in the reconstruction of Iraq after the war....