Israeli defense minister discusses Mideast issues with UN secretary-general

Israeli defense minister meets UN chief

UNITED NATIONS — Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spent about an hour Wednesday discussing peace prospects with the Palestinians and broader Mideast issues.

The meeting was Barak’s first on a brief trip to New York and Washington. He is also scheduled to meet U.S. envoy George Mitchell, who is trying to revive the stalemated Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other senior U.S. officials.

Barak did not speak to reporters but U.N. associate spokesman Farhan Haq said “they discussed ongoing efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.”

Haq said Ban expressed regret that recent developments that could impact those efforts, including new Israeli orders to demolish buildings in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as their future capital, and the inclusion of holy sites in the West Bank on an Israeli heritage list.

On Lebanon, Haq said, the secretary-general expressed hope for “speedy progress” on proposed Israeli withdrawal from the disputed border village of Ghajar.

The United Nations is part of the so-called Quartet which has been trying to promote a Mideast peace settlement along with the U.S., the European Union and Russia.