UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday again appealed for an Olympic Truce, a worldwide cessation of all hostilities for the duration of the Beijing Olympic Games.

"The most visible and immediate manifestation of teamwork between the United Nations and the Olympic Movement is the Olympic Truce," Ban said in a statement.

"Such a truce, while limited in duration, can provide a pause in which to reconsider the heavy cost of war, as well as an opening to initiate a dialogue and a window to provide relief for suffering populations," Ban said.

It can also demonstrate to the world that peace is possible in even the most seemingly intractable situations if we truly work towards it, he said.

"But the Olympic Truce is only meaningful in its observance," Ban said. "I join the International Olympic Committee and the United Nations General Assembly in calling on all those who are at war to observe this truce."

"Let them lay down their weapons, if only temporarily, so that humanity can lay claim to gold even before the Games begin," he said.

Source:Xinhua