Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is to hold talks with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday to discuss Iraq, Afghanistan and the three-decade-long conflict of Western Sahara among other topics, Zapatero's office said. Ban is in Madrid on a two-day visit, which started on Tuesday with a dinner with King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia. Before meeting Zapatero, Ban will also hold talks with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos. The Spanish leader and Ban are also expected to focus on other international issues, such as the precarious situation in Darfur, the conflict in Lebanon and the Iran nuclear standoff, Zapatero's office said. About Iraq, Ban said in a Spanish newspaper interview on Sunday that the United Nations is considering stepping up its presence following his recent visit there. He told the Madrid conservative ABC daily that the U.N. activities have been limited by violence in Iraq but that he was thinking how the world body can make new contributions to increase its presence. He stressed the United Nations has played a major constructive role to help the Iraqi government. Foreign U.N. staff were withdrawn after the bombing of its headquarters in Baghdad in August 2003. That attack killed 22 people, including the top U.N. envoy, Sergio Vieira de Mello. Ban will be in Germany on Thursday and Friday to attend the G-8 summit in the Baltic Sea resort of Heiligendamm.
