UN, Italy stress urgent need to find political solution to the Syrian crisis

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Italy’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Giulio Terzi di Sant’Agata discussed during a meeting held in New York last night the crisis in Syria and the recent meeting of the core group of the Friends of Syria, which took place in Rome last week.Both sides Agreed on the urgent need to find a political solution to the ongoing violence and to put a halt to the human rights abuses, Ban’s spokesperson said.On Mali, the UN Secretary-General expressed appreciation for Italy’s support to the UN’s engagement, including support to European Union initiatives, as well as for the work of former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, the UN Special Envoy for the Sahel, on the development of a strategy for the troubled northern African sub-region.Ban welcomed the Italy’s support for United Nations efforts in Mali and the entire Sahel region, as well as in Libya and Somalia.In discussions on other topics, Ban also commended the Foreign Minister for Italy’s leadership role in support of Libya’s transition to democracy following the fall of the Government of Muammar al-Qadhafi.He expressed hope that Italy and the European Union will continue to provide strong support to the African Union Mission in Somalia and to other UN efforts in support of the Somali authorities