Tony Blair To End 8-Year Stint As Middle East Quartet's Peace Envoy

Former British prime minister Tony Blair will step down from his role as the Middle East envoy representing the Quartet -- composed of the United Nations, Russia, European Union and the United States -- next month, the U.N. announced in a statement released Wednesday. Blair served as the prime minister of the U.K. from 1997 to 2007 and has been the Quartet's envoy to the Middle East since he left Downing Street.