Blair: We want to engage with whoever will rule Egypt

Quartet envoy Tony Blair on Friday offered his opinion on the turbulent situation in Gaza and said "we want to engage with whoever will be in charge in Egypt."

During an interview aired on Channel 2 News, Blair went on to explain that "if you are in Israel of course you are going to be worried about the Gaza border - that is natural concern. There are security concerns that we must take care of."

RELATED:
Tahrir Square transforms into makeshift field hospital
Analysis: Tahrir square had Twitter, Mubarak the muscle
Editor's Notes: The reversal of a generation’s momentum
Column One: Israel and Arab democracy

Blair explained that he believed in democracy. "People want to see this process of democracy, but of course we don't want Egypt to be run by extremists," he said.

He further explained that The Quartet were "going to be in this one way or another." Blair stressed the need to focus on the changes that will come out of the situation.

"I cannot think of country that once it became democracy later rejected it," Blair said. "It is a myth that democracy is Western concept," he added.



Blair said that the people are naturally looking for a way to create change and stressed the importance of managing transition in a way that is respectful to Egypt.

"It would be great if we had democracy in Iran," Blair said, when asked about a solution to the Iranian nuclear threat.