No negotiation with Taliban, Blair warns

The British Prime Minister has ruled out any negotiation with Afghanistan's Taliban government.

Tony Blair insists the regime has "virtually merged" with the al Qaida terror group.

He says the fight against al Qaida is not something Britain could have kept out of and that the terrorist network must be eradicated.

Mr Blair said its terror attacks on the US on September 11 were "aimed at civilized values and the civilized world everywhere".

Speaking on CNN's Larry King Live, Mr Blair said the international coalition against terror remained "remarkably strong" and paid tribute to US President George W Bush for his "magnificent" handling of the crisis.

Asked about reports that Taliban leader Mullah Omar had offered to hold face-to-face talks with him and Mr Bush, Mr Blair said this was not an option.

He said: "No, because they know what they've got to do. There's not a negotiation over it."

And asked how bin Laden and al Qaida could be dealt with, Mr Blair said: "As you can see from the video evidence that he puts out - his actual words - this is a man who talks about killing all Jews, about eliminating the state of Israel, about killing Christians or Americans who oppose what he stands for.

"You don't negotiate with that kind. You just defeat them. We have to take action and shut the whole of that terrorist network down. I mean eliminate it, eradicate it."