Jaishankar calls on UN chief Guterres; discusses Afghan

UNITED NATIONS: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday met UN secretary general Antonio Guterres here and discussed the situation in war-torn Afghanistan.

"Good to meet UN Secretary General @antonioguterres. Our discussions focused on Afghanistan, following upon the Security Council meeting yesterday," Jaishankar said in a tweet.

Jaishankar arrived in New York on Monday as the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on the situation in Afghanistan, the second time in just over 10 days that the powerful UN body met under India's Presidency for the month of August to discuss the rapidly deteriorating and unraveling situation in the war-torn country.

"Significant UN Security Council discussions today on developments in Afghanistan. Expressed the concerns of the international community. Expect to discuss these during my engagements at the UN," Jaishankar had tweeted on Monday.

He also discussed the "latest developments" in Afghanistan with US secretary of state Antony Blinken and "underlined the urgency of restoring airport operations in Kabul. Deeply appreciate the American efforts underway in this regard."

State department spokesperson Ned Price said that Blinken spoke with Jaishankar "today about Afghanistan and the developing situation there."

Jaishankar will chair two high-level signature events this week under India's current Security Council Presidency and has said he expects to discuss the situation in Afghanistan during his engagements at the United Nations.

As India assumed the Presidency of the 15-nation Council for the month of August, it had outlined maritime security, counter-terrorism and peacekeeping as the focus areas.

Jaishankar will chair an open debate on August 18 on technology and peacekeeping under the overarching theme of 'Protecting the Protectors'.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN ambassador T S Tirumurti said in a tweet that Jaishankar will participate in a ceremony at the UN Peacekeeping memorial in the UN headquarters along with Guterres.

Jaishankar will also chair a high-level event on August 19 on counter-terrorism during which the Council will discuss the secretary general's six-monthly report on the threat posed by ISIL/Da'esh, under the agenda item 'Threats to International Peace and Security caused by Terrorist Acts'.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had chaired the virtual high-level open debate on maritime security that was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Blinken.