'I stand ready to help in any way I can': Tony Blair's grand reaction to ETA ceasefire

Middle East envoy calls for Northern Ireland-style talks
He declares: 'The last armed confrontation in Europe is finally over.'
ETA's announcement ends four decades of atrocities
Spain adamant it will still not negotiate with Basque separatist group

Last updated at 6:06 PM on 21st October 2011

Ready to talk: Middle East envoy Tony Blair has welcomed ETA's ceasefire

Tony Blair today declared he was ready to help cement the peace in Spain after Basque separatist group ETA announced it was laying down its arms.

Talks like those in Northern Ireland are needed to consider issues such as decommissioning and the handling of prisoners, the former prime minister said today.

ETA's historic announcement marked an end to four decades of bombings and shootings in which more than 800 people have been killed.

Mr Blair, who now has a central role in attempts to achieve peace in the Middle East as the Quartet envoy, said: 'As in Northern Ireland, it is now necessary to address the consequences of the conflict by talks on decommissioning weapons, demobilising ETA, dealing with prisoners and exiles, and achieving security normalisation.'

He said peace in Spain is crucial to the wider international community.

'I stand ready to help personally in any way I can,' he said.

'The last armed confrontation in Europe is finally over. We should all welcome this and work together to make peace irreversible.'

In a historic statement, ETA announced yesterday it was ceasing its 43-year-long bloody campaign for an independent Basque state in territory straddling northern Spain and southwest France.
But the group stopped short of declaring defeat and called on Spain and France to open talks on the conflict.
'There is nothing to negotiate with ETA,' Defence Minister Carme Chacon told Spanish National Television, adding that ETA had not achieved any of its aims and that the decades 'of pain and crime have not served them (ETA) at all.'
It was the first clear signal from the government that there would be no deals made.
Chacon said this was the 'beginning of an end that has to be managed intelligently.'
'The road map from now on has to be followed with consensus and not in a rush,' said Chacon.
ETA's decision was immediately welcomed by Spanish politicians across the board, with Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero saying it was a victory for democracy.

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