By KUNA,
United Nations : Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday said he will discuss with President Bush over a lunch in Washington on Tuesday the situation in Gaza and how to put an immediate end to the crisis.
“I am looking forward to my meeting with President Bush tomorrow in Washington. I will take that opportunity to stress the importance of bringing this violent situation (in Gaza) to an immediate halt with a durable system which can be respected fully by the parties concerned and how we can bring humanitarian assistance to the civilians,” Ban told reporters following a meeting with the Foreign Ministers of the Arab League Committee on Palestine.
About his meeting with the Foreign Ministers, Ban said it provided an “excellent and appropriate opportunity for us to discuss how we can bring this violence to an immediate end and restore peace and security in the region and a durable peace process that can be fully respected by the parties concerned.” He added that “we agreed to work very closely so that the Security Council can take a decisive and swift and credible action for a binding resolution to bring an immediate end to this crisis and also to allow humanitarian assistance to be delivered by opening the crossings and a credible mechanism to ensure the protection of Palestinian people.” He noted that he will continue to work with the council members and other key leaders in the region, because he felt there is “convergence of opinion of these major elements which can be the basis of discussions at the council”.