Fight for religious freedom, tolerance ‘central battle’ in Middle East: Blair

OTTAWA – Former British prime minister Tony Blair says the fight for religious freedom and tolerance is the “central battle” being waged in the Middle East.

Blair is now the Middle East peace envoy for the so-called Quartet, which was set up a decade ago to negotiate peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Blair was in Ottawa to meet with Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and attend a conference on religious freedom — a key pillar in the Harper government’s foreign policy.

Blair endorsed Canada as a vital player in the peace process, citing its economic support of the Palestinian Authority as crucial.

Baird recently pledged to extend Canadian aid to the Palestinians, calling it some of the country’s best spent development dollars.

Blair is the Quartet’s special representatives, a group made up of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia.