LONDON, March 25: British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said he will travel to the United States to meet President George W. Bush on Wednesday for talks on the Iraq war.

Mr Blair said he would discuss with Mr Bush as to how to rebuild Iraq after the downfall of Saddam’s regime and how to improve relations between Europe and the United States, which have been badly strained over Bush’s insistence on attacking Iraq without the UN backing.

“It is to discuss the humanitarian situation and the important and complex issues that have to be addressed for the post-Saddam era, that I intend to visit the US tomorrow,” Mr Blair told his first full press conference since the war began last Thursday.

“I will see President Bush at Camp David to discuss not just the military campaign, but also the diplomatic implications of recent events for the future, in particular how we get America and Europe working again together as partners and not as rivals,” Mr Blair said.

The British premier added that he and Bush would “assess the best way of dealing with the humanitarian crisis in Iraq”.

Mr Blair said he would spend Wednesday evening and most of Thursday at Camp David and then meet with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in New York on Thursday evening before flying home overnight.—AFP