Croatian President Meets Tony Blair in Libya

I recognise all that Croatia has given as far as achieving peace between Israel and Palestine, said Blair.

The Croatian president Stjepan Mesic met with the former British prime minister Tony Blair on Monday. Today Blair is a special official for peace in the Middle East. The meeting took place in the Libyan city Sirt.

Mesic and Blair, who is also visiting Libya, met in the impressive congress centre in Sirt, the birth city of the Libyan leader Moamer Gadafi.

- We talked about the Middle East and the Middle East peace process, as well as what I am trying to do to make long lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians – said Tony Blair after talking to Mesic.

- We agreed that this was a challenging task, and I recognise what Croatia has contributed in that sense – said the former British premier.

- Croatia is interested in stopping global terrorism, and it is only possible to stop it if we solve regional crises, and the regional crisis in the Middle East is most important – said Mesic. He added that Tony Blair and the special Middle East peace quartet (USA, EU, Russia, UN) wants full success for his mission.

During the day concerning the Middle East peace process, Blair talked to the Libyan leader Moamer Gadafi about Libya’s role in the process.

On Monday, Mesic travelled to Libya for a three day official visit that started with his meeting with the host Gadafi in his tent near Sirt, 500 km east of Tripoli. After that he toured the congress centre which takes its name Ouagadougou after the capital city Burkine Faso.

The impressive congress centre was opened in 1997 after five years of construction. It covers 42,000 square meters, has five large multi-functional halls, of which the largest can accommodate 3660 people. All of the halls are connected with a video system, and according to needs, can all be connected to form one huge hall.

Every year the sitting of the Libyan parliament takes place there, and there are regular meetings of the leaders of Africa and the African Union.

On Monday, Gadafi will hold a ceremonial dinner in Sirt for the Croatian president and his delegates.