UNGA Prez ‘saddened’ by NYC Mayor’s refusal to meet him

United Nations, Oct 24 : UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Volkan Bozkir said that he was “saddened” by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s refusal to meet him.
“I was saddened to learn that the Mayor was unavailable to meet with me. This lack of interaction concerns me as policies devised by the City of New York directly affect the work of the UN and by extension millions of lives across the globe,” Xinhua news agency quoted Bozkir as saying in a statement on Friday.
“Nevertheless, I will continue my work as president of the General Assembly of the UN, in the hopes of protecting the world’s most vulnerable populations and advancing efforts towards a healthier and more sustainable planet.
“I hope the City of New York will continue to be a strong partner in that regard,” he said.
Bozkir’s spokesman, Brenden Varma, told reporters that the meeting with de Blasio was requested around two weeks ago and the mayor’s office did not revert until a few days ago with a refusal, without providing any specific reason.
“He (Bozkir) was disappointed because he did reach out around two weeks ago to ask for an appointment with the mayor and received a response only a few days ago declining the meeting request,” said Varma.