UN, Saudi senior official discuss Mideast critical issues
Date
6/23/2016 4:56:47 AM
(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) NEW YORK, June 22 (KUNA) -- UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon exchanged views Wednesday with Saudi Deputy crown prince Mohammad Bin Salman, on a wide number of regional issues, including the conflict in Syria, the situations in Libya, Lebanon and Yemen and the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process.
At the UN headquarters, Ban thanked Prince Mohammad, who is also the Minister of Defense, for Saudi Arabia''s strong Political and financial support of many of the UN''s activities, including counter-terrorism and humanitarian work, said a UN statement.
On Syria, the UN chief said he looked to Saudi Arabia to encourage all parties to support cease-fire efforts on the ground and to engage positively with his Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, and underscored that the next few weeks will be critical for the Syrian peace process.
Ban also expressed concern over the impact of the Syrian conflict on Lebanon. In that regard, he highlighted the need to resolve the long-standing issue of the vacant Presidency in the country and called for maximum support to the Lebanese Government.
Regarding Libya, the UN chief said that while he was encouraged that the Presidency Council has settled in Tripoli, it was also important for all Member States to help ensure that General Khalifah Haftar and his army units be brought into the unified command under the Presidency Council.
Both senior officials spoke about the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, where Ban informed the Deputy Crown Prince that the Quartet''s report would soon be issued and that he hoped it would shape international consensus on how to preserve and advance a two-State solution.
Turning to Yemen, the UN official thanked the Kingdom for supporting the political work of his Special Envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, and stressed the urgency of ending the conflict. Further the officials brought up the issue of protecting children and civilians in the armed conflict in Yemen, the Secretary General and the Saudi Prince discussed putting into place concrete measures that could improve the situation on the ground. (end) mao.hb
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