PM phone call with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon: September 2014
The Prime Minister spoke to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon about Ebola, Iraq, Ukraine and the UN General Assembly.
Following the phone call, a Downing Street spokesperson said:
The Prime Minister spoke to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon this afternoon about international efforts to tackle the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and the situation in both Iraq and Ukraine.
On Ebola, the Secretary General thanked the Prime Minister for the role the UK had been playing in the region and welcomed the creation of a new Ebola treatment facility in Sierra Leone. Both leaders agreed on the need for further support from the international community to help contain the situation.
On the situation in Iraq, the Prime Minister set out the UK’s efforts in the region and outlined discussions which had taken place at the NATO summit. The Secretary General thanked the Prime Minister for the UK’s leadership in the UN Security Council in responding to the threat from ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant). They both agreed on the pressing need for the formation of a unity government in Baghdad and for the upcoming UN General Assembly to focus on what more the international community and UN could do to help any newly formed government and tackle the wider threat posed by ISIL.
They also discussed the situation in Ukraine, and agreed on the urgent need for further OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) monitors to be deployed to the region, with unhindered access to the border between Russia and Ukraine. The Prime Minister made clear that Russia’s actions were illegal and unacceptable and that the UN has and could continue to play an important role in putting pressure on President Putin.
The Prime Minister and Secretary General said that they looked forward to continuing their discussions at the UN General Assembly later this month.