Visiting British Prime Minister Tony Blair called on Friday for more international support for Iraq's new government and democratic process in the war-torn country.

"This is a child of democracy struggling to be born," Blair said in a speech at Georgetown University. "Surely we must all accept this as a genuine attempt," he said. "If Iraqis can show their faith in democracy by voting for it, shouldn't we show ours by supporting them?"

Speaking of his tour in Iraq early this week, Blair noted, " They (Iraqis) want the rule of law, not violence."

On Thursday, U.S. President George W. Bush met with Blair at the White House, with the two sides having defended their stand to launch together the Iraq war in 2003.

Both Bush and Blair have refused to offer a timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq.

With some 8,000 troops in Iraq, Britain -- the U.S.'s main ally in Iraq's war -- has the second-largest foreign military contingent there after the United States, with some 130,000 soldiers on the ground.

On the Middle East issues, Blair called on Hamas, officially named Islamic Resistance Movement, to drop its refusal to accept Israel so negotiations could begin. "There is no better time to break out of despair," he said.

On Iran, Blair reiterated British call for Iran to change its nuclear stand. "I don't believe we will be more secure unless Iran changes," he said.

Source: Xinhua