UN head visits Moscow

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon is visiting Moscow  March 17-19. A key point of his agenda is the situation around Gaza and the Palestinian Autonomy. Speaking to journalists after a meeting of the mediating quartet of Russia, the US, the UN and the EU, Ban Ki-Moon voiced his concern over the Tuesday Israeli-Palestinian standoff which resulted in street fights in Jerusalem. The mediating quartet condemns Israel’s recent settlement plans in Eastern Jerusalem. The UN head called on both sides to respect the holy site by stopping the bloodshed. Ban Ki-Moon also criticized Israel’s Gaza blockade stressing that closed borders facilitate illegal trade and severely worsen life standards of ordinary Gaza citizens. The UN is currently working out a new strategy to regulate the Mid-Eastern crisis.