UN chief, Russian FM meet on Ukraine, Syria, Iranian nuclear issues

UNITED NATIONS  (Xinhua) -  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, exchanging views on issues including Ukraine, Syria and the Iranian nuclear program. 

"On Ukraine, the secretary-general urged Russia to use its influence to ensure a sustainable cease-fire," Ban's spokesman told reporters here after the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the ongoing annual high-level UN debate of the UN General Assembly.

"He informed the foreign minister that he would continue his personal engagement with world leaders toward a peaceful resolution of the crisis," the spokesman said.

Ban and Lavrov agreed on the need for a comprehensive political solution on Syria, with the secretary-general appealing to Russia to enhance its level of engagement with key partners toward this end, said the spokesman.

"They also discussed the Iranian nuclear issue, both agreeing on the need for flexibility in the talks," the spokesman said. " The secretary-general encouraged the Russian Federation's engagement on the Korean Peninsula in order to ease tensions and exchanged views with the foreign minister as to the state of the Six-Party Talks."