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 » Special Report | Video archive | E-mail us: Your stories | How to help civilians Mideast crisis delays Blair holiday
 Blair says he is hopeful of a U.N. resolution soon. RELATEDYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSLONDON, England (CNN) -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair will delay the start of his holiday to work on a U.N. deal for a cease-fire in Lebanon, his office says. "Basically he's delayed to try and do further work to try and get this U.N. deal together. And he thinks the next few days will be critical," a spokesman said, adding he expected Blair to delay his departure by several days. Blair said on Thursday he was "hopeful" that the United Nations Security Council would agree on a resolution implementing a cease-fire in the Middle East within the next few days. Speaking at his monthly Downing Street press conference, Blair said Western powers are working "very hard" to develop an agreement on a U.N. Security Council resolution that would bring about "an immediate cease-fire" and then establish conditions to deploy an international force in Lebanon. "This is obviously a critical time. I think it is coming together. I think the remaining differences are very slight," Blair said. "The U.S., the UK, France and others have been working very hard to get agreement on a United Nations resolution and I am now hopeful that we will have such a resolution down very shortly and agreed within the next few days. Blair has faced growing criticism from within the ranks of his own Labour Party over his refusal, in line with U.S. diplomatic efforts, to back calls for an immediate cease-fire in Israel's campaign against Hezbollah militants. But he said a cease-fire had to apply to both sides and would have to be followed by the implementation of a long-term plan to tackle the "under-lying cause" of the conflict. "The purpose of [a resolution] will be to bring about an immediate cease-fire and then put in place the conditions for the international force to come in, in support of the Lebanese government, so we get the underlying issues and problems dealt with," he said. "If it is not on both sides, Israel will continue to take action, that's the reality," said Blair, who added "the solution will not come by condemning one side." Blair rejected suggestions of a rift with British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett as "complete rubbish," but said it was not surprising that differences existed within the Labour Party over securing the terms of a cease-fire. "The difference between me and those people who are criticizing me is not that I am indifferent to the suffering of people in Lebanon," said Blair. "On the contrary, I stand in complete solidarity and sympathy with people in the Lebanon, innocent people who have died in Israel as well, in what is a terrible, terrible situation, but my job is to bring it to an end. You don't bring it to an end unless you have got a plan to do so." Blair also criticized comments by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calling for the destruction of Israel as "deeply unhelpful." (Full story) He reiterated his call for an "alliance of moderation" across the Middle East to tackle the causes of conflicts in Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan. "If we want a solution -- and we do -- then countries like Iran and Syria have got to help in this process, not hinder it," said Blair. 
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