OREANDA-NEWS. March 22, 2010. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov met on March 18 with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who has arrived in Moscow to attend a ministerial meeting of the Middle East Quartet of international mediators.

Minister Lavrov confirmed Russia's strategic course towards increasing interaction with the UN to strengthen its central coordinating role in the emerging multipolar system of international relations. He underlined the importance of the contribution of the world Organization to consolidating multilateral approaches to solving the urgent problems in the areas of security, sustainable development and overcoming cross-border challenges, as well as the need for its reform based on the widest possible agreement among member states in order to improve its efficiency.

During the conversation, along with Middle East issues, an exchange of views took place on such topical subjects as the situation in and around Afghanistan, the Iraqi settlement, nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament, including in light of the preparation of the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons in May this year. Sergey Lavrov briefed the UN Secretary General on the progress of the work on a Russian-American agreement to replace the START Treaty. Issues of United Nations peacekeeping and the augmentation of Russia's participation in it were discussed in detail. The parties considered international anti-piracy efforts off the coast of Somalia, as well as Russia's initiative to establish international mechanisms for judicial prosecution against persons responsible for such crimes. Minister Lavrov reiterated the intention of our country to increase humanitarian assistance through the UN in various countries, including through the World Food Program.

Ban Ki-moon praised the leading role of Russia in efforts to address many global issues, and welcomed the increasingly stronger relations between Russia and the world Organization, conducive to its full-fledged operation.