NEW YORK, March 12 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said he hopes discussions in Baghdad with Iraq's neighboring countries will improve the situation in the region.
"He hopes that the positive atmosphere of the meeting will carry over into the activities of the working groups formed on border security, refugees and internally displaced persons, and fuel imports," Ban's spokeswoman Michele Montas said Monday. "The Secretary-General is encouraged by the discussions held in Baghdad."
Ban's special representative for Iraq Ashraf Qazi attended the Saturday meeting along with foreign ministers from Iraq's neighbor countries, representatives from the Security Council's five permanent members, and officials from the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
The talks are aimed at preparing a meeting between foreign ministers from Iraq's neighboring countries.
"The secretary-general reiterates the need for countries around the region and for the international community more broadly to play a constructive role in support of a stable, secure and democratic Iraq," Montas said.
The increasing number of refugees continues to be a concern for Iraq's neighbors, especially Jordan and Syria.
In a report released Monday, Ban warned the "terrorist attacks and sectarian conflict that have gripped large parts of Iraq are increasingly acquiring a self-sustaining dynamic that could overwhelm the country's fragile political processes and institutions."
The report on the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq said its efforts could be jeopardized if the cycle of violence was not stopped.
Ban said he would host a meeting at U.N. headquarters Friday to brief members states on the International Compact with Iraq. The meeting is also meant to give Iraq's government an opportunity to inform potential donors of the progress made in the implementation of its commitments under the Compact, an Iraqi initiative to consolidate peace and pursue social development.
