Secretary-General's press encounter with Associated Press following Security Council luncheon (unofficial transcript)

SG: I'm afraid I can't enlighten you on that. I have to wait for him to come and explain this to me also.

Q: Okay. Another question –any comment on [President Bush's] speech [ref. press conference of 13 April] on the idea of a new resolution on Iraq to try to get movement on the whole issue of new troop contributions?

SG: The [Security] Council members are discussing among themselves the possibility of a new Iraq resolution. The question is when, and its contents.

Q: What else did you talk about at lunch?

SG: We talked about Darfur, Sudan. We talked about Cote d'Ivoire. We spoke about the Middle East. We spoke about Iraq. So we had quite an agenda.

Q: Were you concerned about the Bush-Sharon press conference, the fact that the United States seems to be supporting the West Bank settlements?

SG: I didn't see the press conference, so I will have to get the facts on that.

Q: And, is anything happening on Darfur that we should know about?

SG: We intend to send a mission which will be led by Jan Egeland [Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, and Emergency Relief Coordinator].