Jaishankar meets former British premier Tony Blair; discuss bilateral ties & West Asia situation

London: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday met former British prime minister Tony Blair here and discussed bilateral ties, the West Asia situation and Africa.

Jaishankar is on a five-day official visit to the UK with an aim to review various aspects of bilateral ties and give 'new impetus to the friendly ties'.

'Nice to catch up with former UK PM Tony Blair this morning. Discussed our bilateral ties, the West Asia situation and Africa,' Jaishankar said in a post on X.

Blair served as British premier from 1997 to 2007 and as envoy for the Middle East Quartet comprising the UN, the US, the European Union, and Russia from 2007 to 2015.

The Quartet, established to help mediate Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, has been largely inactive in recent years.

According to Israeli media reports, Tel Aviv is seeking to appoint Blair as a humanitarian coordinator for the war-torn Gaza Strip.

On Sunday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty hosted Jaishankar and his wife Kyoko Jaishankar for Diwali tea at Downing Street here.