UN chief meets with French president on Syria, Rio+20
CHICAGO, May 21 (Xinhua) — UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon(L) on Monday met with French President Francois Hollande on issues including Syria and the Rio+20 conference slated for next month in Brazil. The meeting took place here on the sidelines of the two-day NATO summit, which is scheduled to conclude late on Monday.
“The secretary-general again congratulated the president on assuming office and said he was sure relations between France and the United Nations would be strengthened still further,” said a readout to the press from Ban’s spokesman.
“Their discussions covered Syria and the Rio+20 conference,” the readout said. “On Syria, the secretary-general said we were at a pivotal moment in the search for a peaceful settlement to the crisis and that he remained extremely troubled about the risk of an all-out civil war and was concerned about the outbreak of related violence in Lebanon,” the readout noted.
“He expressed gratitude for the continued important role of French peacekeepers in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon,” said the readout.
The secretary-general said the eurozone crisis underscored the importance of sustainable economic development and of the Rio+20 United Nations conference on sustainable development, according to the readout.
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