The first day of the peace conference in Montreux, was marked by frustration and bitterness. Syria’s foreign minister had a heated exchange with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
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| UN Chief Ban Ki-moon (L) and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem (R). |
Walid al-Moallem had been speaking for 20 minutes when Ban interrupted the diplomat and asked him to "wrap up" his speech.
Ban: "How much do you have left now?"
Al-Moallem: "I think five, 10 minutes."
Ban: "Oh no, no. It’s...Can you just...I will give you another opportunity at the end."
Al-Moallem: "No, I cannot divide my speech. I must continue. I’ll do my best to be."
Ban: "Can you just wrap up in one or two minutes?"
Al-Moallem: "No I can’t promise you. I must finish my speech."
Ban: "But then I’ll have to give equal time to the opposition groups."
Al-Moallem: "Yourself, you live in New York, I live in Syria. I have the right to give the Syrian version, here in this forum."
Ban: "Yes, of course."
Al-Moallem: "After three years of suffering, this is my right."
