The Secretary-General met today with His Excellency Mr. Ioannis Kasoulides, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus.

The Secretary-General and the Foreign Minister exchanged views on the progress made by the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, Mr. Anastasiades and Mr. Akinci, respectively, in the Cyprus talks. The Secretary-General commended the determination and perseverance of the leaders and was encouraged by their meeting that had taken place earlier in the day, under the auspices of the United Nations.

The Secretary-General and the Foreign Minister discussed the large-scale movement of refugees and migrants towards Europe, the ratification of the Paris climate change agreement and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. They also touched upon the situation in Syria and Libya.