Activities of Secretary-General in Russian Federation, 21-23 April

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Madam Ban Soon-taek arrived in Moscow from Kyiv on Thursday afternoon, 21 April.

His first appointment was to visit a centre for children with disabilities.  He discussed the global problem of disability, at a time when about 10 per cent of the world’s people live with a disability — whether it is physical, emotional or sensory.  And he emphasized that inclusive societies and inclusive education benefit everyone.  (See Press Release SG/SM/13519)

He spent time with children, parents, staff and supporters of the centre, and he also spoke to reporters at that event.

That evening, the Secretary-General was hosted to dinner by Anatoly Torkunov, President of the United Nations Association-Russia and Rector of Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

On Friday morning, Mr. Ban met with the United Nations country team before travelling to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to meet with Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation.

The Secretary-General later met with the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, at the President’s Gorki residence outside Moscow.  Before the meeting, the Secretary-General told reporters that Russia has a special role to play in addressing regional and global challenges.

Minister Lavrov and the Secretary-General briefed the press on the talks with President Medvedev.  The Secretary-General underlined the importance of Russia’s continued support for the United Nations to advance “our common agenda: to secure peace and security, end poverty, make development sustainable and control the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and also the importance of nuclear safety”.

Later that afternoon, at the headquarters of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Mr. Ban met with its Secretary General, Nikolai Bordyuzha, with whom he considered areas in which to intensify practical cooperation between the two organizations.  He then addressed a session of the CSTO Permanent Council.  (See Press Release SG/SM/13520)

On Friday evening, the Secretary-General and his delegation attended a ballet performance of Swan Lake at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovitch-Danchenko Theatre.

The Secretary-General returned to New York the following day.