UN chief discusses Syria, Iraq with Turkish foreign minister

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Monday met Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, and discussed the situation in Iraq and Syria, including international efforts to combat the threat posed by the terrorist Islamic State (IS) group.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the annual session of the UN General Assembly, which entered its fifth day here Monday, at which many speakers touched upon the global efforts to fight against terrorists in the Middle East, including Iraq and Syria, Xinhua reported.

The IS has seized vast swaths of territory in northern Iraq since June and announced the establishment of a caliphate in areas under its control in Syria and Iraq.

During their talks, Ban and Cavusoglu also touched upon Turkey's humanitarian assistance to more than one million refugees who have fled the Syrian conflict, Ban's spokesman told reporters here.

"The secretary-general thanked the foreign minister for his country's generous support to the refugees."

Turkey is one of the neighbouring countries which aided and accommodated a massive influx of Syrian refugees, who fled their homes since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in March 2011.

Meanwhile, "the secretary-general and the foreign minister discussed the status of the negotiations to achieve a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus and Turkey's role in supporting the process", said the spokesman.

The secretary-general and the foreign minister also discussed the need for meaningful negotiations to start on Gaza, the spokesman said, adding that they exchanged views on the precarious situation in Libya, and also on Somalia.

The secretary-general and the foreign minister discussed preparations for the World Humanitarian Summit to be held in Turkey in 2016, the spokesman added.