Kerry to chair UN Security Council meeting on Iraq this week

US Secretary of State John Kerry would chair a meeting of the UN Security Council in New York this week to support Iraq's efforts in combating the Islamic State (IS) militants and to demonstrate international support for the new Iraqi government.
"Kerry will travel to New York this Friday just for the day to chair a ministerial debate of the United Nations Security Council on Iraq as part of the US presidency of the Security Council in the month of September," State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf told foreign correspondents.
"The Council session this Friday will also provide a platform for the international community to underscore its support for Iraq's new government as it responds to the threats from ISIL and the humanitarian situation," she said.

This will be a good session going into the high-level week at UN General Assembly session next week, which will of course be very focused on ISIL, the terrorist organisation.
Iran, Ukraine and the Middle East would be other issues of discussion for US leaders during the annual session of the UN General Assembly next week, she said.
"Obviously, the Middle East has been in the news quite a bit as of late, but in Ukraine we are also very focused on working together at UNGA.

We look forward to the full implementation of the peace plan that has been negotiated, despite even some setbacks, some fairly serious setbacks just today on the ground," she said.

"Both Ukraine and Russia have voiced support for the plan, but there now must be sustained follow-through on the ground and everyone must do their part," Harf said.
"The principle that no attempt should be made to alter international boundaries through external aggression underpins really every country that sits around at the UN General Assembly table next week. That principle has been violated in Ukraine by Russia," she said.
Afghanistan would be another topic of discussion during the UN General Assembly session.
"We'll have some conversations about Afghanistan and the path forward there.
NATO and the Afghan Government are in the final stages of a long-planned security transition, as you know, and we are obviously in conversations about what our post-2014 presence will look like, even as the Afghan people have voted to effect a change in political leadership that will really influence the direction of the future of their country," she said.

"The UN is playing a pivotal role here in support of this electoral process. It's ongoing, but hopefully we will have some resolution soon. That's something we'll have conversations about, of course," Harf said.