World divided “Cold War style” over Ukraine 


The World seems to be divided into a “cold war style” over Ukraine and the current situation is not sustainable for world peace and the economy, the UN Secretary-General warned on Saturday.

Ban Ki-moon is in Australia for a two-day Summit of G20 members who belong to the world’s largest, advanced and emerging economies.

Ukraine continues to be embroiled in a conflict triggered by what are called pro-Russian forces in the eastern part of the country.

In September, the Government and rebel groups agreed to a ceasefire, naming the accords after Minsk, the capital of Belarus where the talks were held.

Mr Ban urged leaders to discuss this issue on the margins of the Summit.

“As I said, the current situation is not sustainable for world peace and economy, if and when the world seems to be divided into a Cold War style. I sincerely hope all of these pending issues should be resolved in accordance with the Minsk protocol and memorandum, which was agreed upon, and even facilitated, by the Russian and European Union and the Americans, so this is a time now where it must be implemented faithfully.”

An upsurge in hostilities in the east of the country is raising fears of a possible return to full scale fighting.

Meanwhile, the UN Chief touched upon a number of pressing global issues like Ebola, financing for development, the gender employment gap, sustainable development and climate change.

He urged leaders at the Summit to follow the lead of US and China who made bold ambitious targets aimed at cutting global emissions by 2015.

SOURCE: Jocelyne Sambira, UNRadio.