British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Monday that he is working on a peace plan to end Lebanon crisis, which will be ready "in a few days".

Speaking at a joint news conference after talks with his visiting Iraqi counterpart Nouri Maliki, Blair called the situation in Lebanon "a catastrophe" and said he "deeply regrets" the loss of civilian lives in the Middle East.

Blair also revealed that he is working on a plan to end the conflict, which will be ready "in a few days".

"We are working very hard to put in place a plan that will allow the immediate cessation of hostilities." said Blair.

He said Israel's tactics are damaging Lebanon and its "fragile democracy".

Refusing to support either the Israelis or Hezbollah, he said, "I want the killing to stop now but it's got to happen on both sides and it's not going to happen on both sides unless there is a plan in place."

If the conflict is swiftly brought to an end, work can start on dealing with the underlying causes, Blair added.

And he said it is "tragic that a country that struggled to become a democracy has been set back."

At the news conference, Maliki also called for an immediate cease-fire and blamed Israel for the crisis.

He described the bombardment of Lebanon as an "excessive use of force" if it is directed at innocent civilians and not solely at Hezbollah militants.

And he said the attacks hitting Lebanon have destabilized the entire region, including Iraq.

Blair and Maliki met in London for talks on the possibility of continuing the hand-over of southern Iraqi provinces from the U.S.- led coalition forces to local authorities by the end of this year. But their talks were heavily overshadowed by the Middle East conflict.

It is Maliki's first official visit to Britain and he used it to outline his government's progress since forming his ethnically- mixed government two months ago.

Later this week Maliki will leave London for Washington for talks with U.S. President George W. Bush. But both the British and Iraqi governments did not give information on when the Iraqi leader will leave London.

Source: Xinhua