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Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore met with the Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon in New York this afternoon.

The two discussed some of the major issues facing the international community at the current session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The Tánaiste reiterated Ireland's frustration at the inability of the Security Council to adopt a unified position on Syria. He called for a Chapter VII Resolution imposing a comprehensive arms embargo on all sides and for referral of the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court, as absolutely necessary to halt the flow of arms and for increased pressure for the fighting to end.

Ireland will take on the role of EU Presidency in the first half of next year and will be working closely with the UN across a range of issues. A major priority will be developing a common EU position in advance of the review on the UN's Millennium Development Goals in 2013. The Tánaiste and the Secretary General welcomed the close linkages between the development work of the UN and that of Irish Aid in the areas of food and nutrition security, human rights, gender equality, and humanitarian aid, and they looked forward to greater cooperation in these areas.

The Secretary General thanked Ireland for its longstanding commitment to the work of the United Nations, in particular its peacekeeping operations and the Tánaiste confirmed the Irish Government's full commitment to the continuation of that close cooperation in the period ahead.