Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is in Lisbon, Portugal, today, where he is meeting with the other principal members of the Quartet dealing with the Middle East.
They are: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, European Union High Commissioner for a Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner, and representing the EU Presidency, Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Filipe Marques Amado. They will be joined by newly-appointed Quartet envoy Tony Blair.
At a joint press conference, the Secretary-General is expected to read out a joint communiqué on behalf of all the Quartet members.
The Secretary-General is due back in New York tomorrow.
Asked whether a U.S.-sponsored conference on the Middle East would take place on the sidelines of the General Assembly this September, the Spokeswoman said she was unable to confirm that, adding that the conference was not being organized by the United Nations.