UN chief wishes diplomatic meeting on Iraq successful

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon hoped that the coming Baghdad meeting of key players in the Iraqi conflict would help stabilize the violence-wracked country, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe said on Friday.

Okabe told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York that Ban's Special Representative for Iraq Ashraf Jehangir Qazi will be attending the meeting.

"The Secretary-General hopes that the meeting will focus on preparing for the gathering of foreign ministers of neighboring countries of Iraq," she said.

The spokesperson added that Ban believes that such an event "should have clear objectives and tangible outcomes, as well as an effective follow-up mechanism, to constructively contribute to the stabilization of Iraq."

Representatives from Iraq's Arab neighbors as well as Iran, Turkey, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Arab League are heading for Baghdad for the regional security meeting on Saturday.

Source: Xinhua