Ban Ki-moon cancels visit to South Caucasus

 The April 25 visit of UN Secretary General Ban Ki- moon to the South Caucasus was cancelled, Head of the Department of Public Information of the UN in Armenia Armine Halajyan told ArmInfo's correspondent referring to Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General.  

In particular, Dujarric said that Ban Ki-moon had to cancel his visit to the region, as he has to travel to another place for some urgent issues. The date of the visit to the South Caucasus will be revised, Halajyan said.

UN Secretary General was expected to visit Armenia in April 25, and then Tbilisi and Baku.

To recall, Bank Ki-moon planned to attend the Seventh Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilisations to be held in Baku. On April 20, the Foreign Ministry of Armenia issued a statement saying that Armenia rejects the Seventh Forum, to be held in Baku, in its entirety, including its outcome. "In this dire situation the convening of the Seventh Forum should have been cancelled in Azerbaijan - a country that grossly violates the very aims, principles, values of the Alliance of Civilizations.  Armenia remains committed to the purposes of the Alliance and remains its Friend. However, given the circumstances.  Armenia does not join the consensus on the Declaration of the Seventh Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations.  Therefore, in the absence of consensus the Declaration cannot be adopted," the statement reads.