Visiting British Prime Minister Tony Blair Saturday called on the international community to support Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' call for early elections, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported.

At a press conference at the British embassy, Blair said that the speech of Abbas Saturday morning was very important at this critical time, which showed that Abbas wished to improve living standards of the Palestinian people who have suffered for such a long time, according to MENA.

"Mahmoud Abbas' decision to call for early elections is a strong sign that the Palestinian president is seeking a way out of the deadlock in the peace process," said Blair.

Blair called on the international community to support Abbas in order to reach a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as the peace process is in "a very, very critical time."

The international community should intervene especially because the elected president wants to act as leader and wants support from everyone in order to realize a two-state solution, he said.

Earlier in the day, Abbas called for early parliamentary and presidential elections in spite of opposition from the ruling Hamas movement, which rejected such a call immediately.

As for his talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Blair termed the talks as fruitful as the two leaders probed ways to revive the deadlocked Mideast peace process.

Egyptian presidential spokesman Suleiman Awwad said earlier that Mubarak welcomed Blair's remarks on the Palestinian issue since it was the core of the conflict in the Middle East, adding that making progress in the peace process will help ease the Palestinian people's suffering.

Blair is expected to visit Israel, the Palestinian territories and the United Arab Emirates over the next few days.

Source: Xinhua