The Secretary-General met on Wednesday afternoon with British Prime Minister David Cameron, and he thanked the Prime Minister for his leadership and his support to the United Nations on several issues, including Somalia, Mali, Syrian refugees, the impressive level of UK development assistance, and the Global Fund.

They exchanged views on the best means of getting the warring parties in Syria to come to the proposed international conference with serious delegations and a real willingness to make compromises, especially on the issue of a transition. Encouragement on both sides from many international players would be essential in this regard.  They also underlined the importance of United Nations investigations on allegations of the use of chemical weapons.

The Secretary-General also stressed the importance of using the coming period as an opportunity to make progress on the Cyprus issue.