Blair says change inevitable in Egypt

In an interview yesterday Mr Blair said that "there's bound to be a process of change" in Egypt, the largest and most powerful Arab nation and a key Western ally.

The former British prime minister did not say explicitly whether Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak must step down.

But he said it's important that Egypt holds proper elections and that any transition take place in an orderly fashion.

"People want to get to a position where the Egyptian people are able to express their will in free and fair elections," he said.

"But I think the watchword is change with care, because at the same time we have to make sure any change occurs with stability and order."

In particular, he said, he was concerned that unrest in Egypt could disrupt the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

"Change is going to happen, but it should be the right type of change and that process of change needs to be managed with order and stability so that you don't end up in a situation worse than the one we have and destabilising the region," Blair said.

Mr Blair represents the international "Quartet" of Mideast peacemakers - the US, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations - which is set to gather next week to discuss stalled peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians.

He said the focus of the meeting would be to get the sides talking again.

Negotiations have been stalled for more than three months because of disagreements over Israel's continued settlement construction in occupied areas claimed by the Palestinians.

"I think there's one key issue really that is necessary to revive direct negotiations and get this process back under way, and that is to give credibility to the notion that we want a Palestinian state," Mr Blair said.