UN, EU leaders meet on peace, security issues

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday met with Mr Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, and Frans Timmermans, the first vice-president of the European Commission, they talked about the issues of refugees and migrants, and the peace and security in Ukraine and Syria.

The meeting took place before the United Nations is set to hold a high-level meeting on the issue of refugees and migrants at UN Headquarters in New York on Monday.

During the meeting, "they discussed the ongoing efforts to address large movements of refugees and migrants, including how to best take forward the commitments enshrined in the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here.

With regard to the situation of refugees and migrants, the secretary-general urged the European Union (EU) leaders to continue their efforts to forge a joint approach, based on shared responsibility and in line with international law, the spokesman said, adding that Ban commended the EU's efforts to counter the smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons.

"The secretary-general stressed the need to fully implement the Minsk agreements to ensure a peaceful resolution of the conflict in eastern Ukraine," he said.

The secretary-general and the European Union leaders also exchanged views on Syria and the Middle East peace process, he said.

They also discussed EU efforts to combat climate change, he said, adding that the secretary-general commended the strong commitment of the EU member states towards positive ratification of the Paris Agreement on climate change. Enditem