Ban Ki-moon hopes to discuss global issues with Vladimir Putin

UNITED NATIONS, August 29. /TASS/. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hopes to discuss matters of global importance with Russian President Vladimir Putin, if the Russian head of state arrives in New York in September for the 70th UN General Assembly session, the UN Secretary-General’s office said on Friday. If President Putin arrives, the UN Secretary-General would be very glad to discuss with him matters of global concern, associate spokesperson for the Secretary-General, Eri Kaneko said, when asked if Ban would meet with the Russian leader. On Friday, the official portal of legal information published the president’s order saying he would lead the Russian delegation at the 70th UN General Assembly session. The delegation includes Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, his deputy Gennady Gatilov, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, chairman of the Federation Council’s international affairs committee, Konstantin Kosachyov, chairman of the State Duma’s international affairs committee, Aleksey Pushkov, Russia’s ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak, Russia’s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin, chief of the Foreign Ministry’s department of international organizations, Aleksandr Pankin, and director of the Non-Proliferation and Weapons Control Department, Mikhail Ulyanov. The 70th session of the UN General Assembly will open in New York on September 15. The summit meeting due on September 25-27 will approve of a global agenda for development after 2015. The general political debate will start on September 28. Heads of state and government from the more than 150 UN member-countries will participate. In September, Russia will chair the UN Security Council. Putin addressed the UN General Assembly sessions in 2000, 2003 and 2005. Earlier, the UN press-service did not rule out that a meeting devoted to settling the conflict in the East of Ukraine or consultations by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko might be held in September. UN Secretary-General will certainly try to use the opportunity to address as many major crises and disputes the international community has encountered as possible, the UN Secretary-General’s deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told the media on August 4. Read more