UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 4 -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Wednesday spoke by phone with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters here.
Haq said "this was an introductory phone call during which they had a very positive discussion on U.S.-UN relations."
"The Secretary-General said that he looked forward to engaging with the president after his inauguration," said Haq.
Guterres, former prime minister of Portugal, took reins of the UN on Jan. 1, 2017. On his first day of work, Guterres said though there is skepticism about what role the UN can play, many people have suffered much less because of the organization.
Trump's inauguration is scheduled on Jan. 20, 2017. His recent comments on the Paris climate deal as well as on the question of Israel and Palestine have raised concerns over the U.S.-UN relationship in the coming years.
