Bush and Blair share Middle-East peace talks

Prime Minister Tony Blair sought consensus with President George W. Bush to make peace in the Middle East a priority, exploring whether the death of Yasser Arafat offered new avenues for restarting Israeli-Palestinian talks.

They met over dinner at the White House yesterday, a prelude to two days of talks about the pending elections in Iraq, Iran's nuclear ambitions, transatlantic relations and peace in the Middle East.

Bush greeted Blair on the South Lawn with a hearty handshake and patted the smiling British leader on the back.