Iraq tops Blair's Spanish talks

The pair are at odds over Iraq

The future of Iraq was the centrepiece of Tony Blair's talks with Spain's incoming prime minister.

Mr Blair's brief talks with Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero came ahead of Wednesday's state memorial service of victims of the Madrid bombings.

The UK prime minister argued the 30 June deadline for the transfer of power to Iraqis was a vital moment.

Mr Zapatero did not promise to reverse his pledge to pull troops out of Iraq unless the UN takes over.

Evolving stance?

The Spanish Socialist leader has accused Mr Blair and America of lying over the Iraq war, which he opposed.

The pair discussed Iraq and other issues for 25 minutes without officials present.

Civil servants joined the two men as they found apparent agreement on European economic reform, education and productivity problems in the rest of the hour-long session.

Mr Blair is joining Prince Charles at the Madrid bombs memorial service

BBC political editor Andrew Marr said Mr Blair had concluded the new Spanish government's position on Iraq was still evolving and it was acquainting itself with the latest UN moves.

Mr Zapatero, in what was his first meeting with a foreign leader, stressed domestic issues in Spain and his election promises.

But he said he was very keen for Britain to understand that whatever his final decision on pulling out Spanish troops, it should not be read as Spain withdrawing support for the transition to a stable and democratic Iraq.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "They are very anxious to develop a good relationship, so are we.

"There was genuine common ground."

European controversy

Mr Zapatero looks more likely than his predecessor to press on with talks on the draft European constitution.

Negotiations collapsed in December when EU leaders failed to agree a deal but Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, whose country holds the EU presidency, has said the talks could be concluded in June.

That could mean the constitution features strongly in the June European elections and, as the government tries to get it ratified, in the general election campaign.

Downing Street on Wednesday said it would continue to "hold firm" over its red line positions in the negotiations over the European constitution.

But the No 10 spokesman declined to say whether Britain would veto any breaches of the red lines, saying it was not right to "up the rhetoric" ahead of talks.

Renegotiate?

The government is committed to resisting any extension of majority voting in the areas of tax, social security, defence, areas of criminal law and the British rebate.

Mr Blair's spokesman said the government believed "the centre of gravity is with us."

Conservative leader Michael Howard said it would be "disgraceful" if a referendum was not held over a constitution which could mean Britain would lose sole control on decisions in key areas.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the constitution was "unacceptable".

Mr Howard said he would start negotiations to change the deal if he became prime minister after the constitution had been agreed.

But UK Independence Party MEP Nigel Farage accused the Tories of "opposing the EU Constitution whilst not offering any credible alternative should his party gain power".

Libya trip?

Mr Blair flew on from Spain to Lisbon for talks with Portuguese prime minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, who also backed the war in Iraq.

He is also expected to attend a summit of EU leaders on Thursday, where the fight against international terrorism and the situation in Iraq are likely to dominate the agenda.

That will follow a meeting with Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi on Thursday.

The Madrid attacks on 11 March left 200 people dead and more than 1,200 injured.

At the memorial service, Mr Blair joined Prince Charles, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, French President Jacques Chirac and US Secretary of State Colin Powell.