Readout of the Secretary-General’s meeting with the Foreign Ministers of the five Permanent (P-5) Members of the United Nations Security Council
Readouts | Ban Ki-moon, Former Secretary-General
Today, the Secretary-General met with the H.E. Mr. Wang Yi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China; H.E. Mr. Laurent Fabius, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the French Republic; H.E. Mr. Sergey V. Lavrov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation; H.E. Mr. Philip Hammond, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; and H.E. Mr. John F. Kerry, Secretary of State of the United States of America.
The agenda of the meeting focussed on Syria, but also covered Yemen and South Sudan.
The Secretary-General underlined that he considered the role of the P-5 to be crucial in international efforts to resolve all three issues. In particular, he counted on their continued commitment, as P-5, to try to reach a unified position, which was essential for resolving the tragic Syrian impasse.
On Yemen, the Secretary-General emphasized his profound concern over the massive humanitarian crisis, and also the growing number of civilian casualties of the fighting, especially from air strikes.
The Secretary-General also stressed the need for South Sudan's leaders to implement the peace agreement and applauded the recent decision of the African Union Peace and Security Council to establish a hybrid court to ensure accountability for the terrible crimes committed during the war.