The Secretary-General met today with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms. Catherine Ashton. They discussed in depth the efforts by the international community to respond to the crisis in the Central African Republic. The Secretary-General welcomed the European Union’s efforts to soon deploy a military operation to the country to this end, in addition to their efforts to help alleviate the humanitarian situation in the country. ??

They also discussed the dire humanitarian situation in Syria as well as efforts by Joint Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi to continue the Syrian peace talks. The interlocutors further exchanged views on recent developments in Egypt and South-Sudan, as well as the situations in Ukraine and Bosnia-Herzegovina. ??

In the context of the next round of talks between Iran and the international community on the nuclear issue, in which the EU High Representative will participate in the coming week, the Secretary-General expressed appreciation for her continued efforts. ??

Earlier in the day, the EU High Representative briefed the Security Council on UN-EU cooperation in joint efforts to foster peace and security across the globe during a Security Council meeting on the "Cooperation between the UN and Regional and Sub-regional Organizations". In her meeting with the Secretary-General, the High Representative welcomed the Presidential Statement adopted during that meeting.