UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) — UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon discussed with senior EU leaders an ongoing pan-European refugee crisis and the implementation of the Minsk Agreements on Ukraine's reconciliation, according to a UN statement.
“The Secretary-General reiterated his calls for an appropriate response to challenges associated with the increased movement of refugees and migrants towards Europe. He commended the efforts of the European Union and underlined the need for compassion and solidarity,” the statement released following the meeting reads.
It added that the secretary-general would convene "a high-level side event on the issues on 30 September."
“They also discussed the situation in Ukraine, including the implementation of the Minsk Agreements ahead of the approaching deadline at the end of the year,” the UN read-out statement continued.
The Minsk deal, deadline of which was agreed as the end of 2015, stipulated a truce, prisoner swaps and constitutional changes, among other points, a number of which have not yet been fulfilled.
In recent months, Europe has faced the largest wave of refugee movement since World War II, with hundreds of thousands of people fleeing violence and poverty in crisis-hit countries in North Africa and the Middle East.
The European Commission estimates that some 500,000 asylum seekers have arrived in the European Union since the beginning of 2015.
