UN chief cancels trip to Thailand, regrets postponement of ASEAN related summits

The UN chief said in a written statement delivered to Xinhua bye-mail from the Lao capital of Vientiane, where he was visiting "I deeply regret the postponement of the ASEAN and related summits and the consequent postponement of my attendance to the events." "I understand the circumstances that led the Thai Government to take this difficult decision. While I had hoped to have exchanges with the leaders of ASEAN and its dialogue partners, I continue to look forward to engaging again with them in the near future," Ban said. "I hope for an early restoration of normalcy in Thailand and for the settlement of differences through dialogue and peaceful means," he added. Ban was originally scheduled to arrive in Pattaya on Saturday to preside over the launching of a new UN report, titled Striving Together: ASEAN and the UN, which assesses future opportunities for partnership between the UN and the ASEAN, and attend the 3rd ASEAN-UN Summit on Sunday. He also planned to meet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao among other leaders attending the summits, Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.chinaview.cn for full version.