Former British prime minister Tony Blair is in Rome to meet Vatican and Italian officials on Thursday in his capacity as the Mideast Quartet's special envoy.
Among officials he met in the morning were incoming premier Silvio Berlusconi, Democratic Party leader Walter Veltroni and the head of the Vatican Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran.
Blair was due to meet Rome mayor candidate Francesco Rutelli following talks with Tauran.
The Mideast Quartet was formed in 2002 to address conflict in the Middle East and comprises the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.
