Ban to attend Middle East meeting

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday he will attend a meeting of the Middle East Quartet this weekend in Egypt.

Ban said he expects Israeli and Palestinian leaders to brief the quartet about their efforts to hammer out a peace agreement when the diplomatic group meets Sunday in Sharm el-Sheik, a U.N. news release stated. Representatives of the European Union, Russia and the United States also are expected to be at the session.

"That would be a very important occasion," Ban said, adding he anticipates there will be discussions in the future with other Arab leaders.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Ban said the secretary-general is concerned about the outbreak of violence in Gaza and southern Israel. Ban, the spokesperson said, has urged adherence to the cease-fire that had been in place.