NEW YORK - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon yesterday told Dan Gillerman, Israel's ambassador to the UN, that he would do everything in his power to ensure the abducted Israeli soldiers are released.

Gillerman reiterated Israel's demand for a sign of life from the soldiers.

	Advertisement

Ban told Gillerman that he plans to visit the region soon and that he has fond memories of a visit to Israel several years ago, as South Korea's foreign minister.

A senior Israeli diplomat described the meeting as friendly, saying the pair developed "personal chemistry."

Gillerman told Ban that former secretary general Kofi Annan's approach - that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict feeds other international conflicts - is mistaken. "The UN needs to deal more with the Iranian threat," Gillerman said.

Ban replied that denying the Holocaust, and the declarations by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about Israel's destruction, are unacceptable.

Ban also pledged to act against arms smuggling from Syria and Lebanon, saying he would "spare no effort to implement Resolution 1701."

Ban also said he planned to participate in a Quartet meeting in Washington on February 2.