Syria tracing a ‘dangerous trajectory,’ says UN chief

BEIRUT

Syria is currently tracing a worrying and “dangerous trajectory,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reportedly told Turkey’s foreign minister, according to a U.N. spokesman.

“The secretary general said the dangerous trajectory of the crisis in Syria was a source of grave concern,” the spokesman said in the wake of a meeting in Beirut between Ban and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. Davutoğlu is currently in Lebanon to attend a U.N. conference entitled “Reform and Transitions to Democracy,” which is being organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).

“[Ban and Davutoğlu] discussed a range of regional matters, in particular the situation in Syria, as well as Iran and Cyprus,” the spokesman also said. The U.N. chief also demanded yesterday that Syria’s president stop killing his own people and said the “old order” of one-man rule and family dynasties is over in the Middle East.

Ban Ki-moon, delivering the keynote address at the conference, said the revolutions of the Arab Spring show people will no longer accept tyranny. “Today, I say again to President (Bashar) al-Assad of Syria: Stop the violence. Stop killing your people,” Ban said.

Compiled from AA and AP stories by the Daily News staff.