In Tunisia, UN Chief commends African nation for 'staying true to ideals' of Arab Spring.

SecretaryGeneral Ban Kimoon arrived in Tunisia early this morning where he met with President Moncef Marzouki to pledge full United Nations support for the north African nation in its forthcoming elections and transition to democracy.

"The President and I just had a very productive meeting. I welcomed the way he runs the country without compromising on principles, at this critical time in the history of Tunisia," said Mr. Ban told journalists in the capital of Tunis.

Tunisia's upcoming elections will mark an important milestone on Tunisia's road to democracy, Mr. Ban said pledging that the UN will do its utmost to ensure that elections are open to all, transparent and peaceful.

The UN has already "actively supported the democratic transition with technical assistance on elections, transitional justice and Tunisia's extremely valuable Constitution," he added.

Last January, Tunisia's Parliament adopted the constitution, the country's first since massive public demonstrations ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in early 2011, the first regime to be toppled in the socalled Arab Spring.

"Tunisia raised hopes across North Africa, the Middle East and the globe when the Arab Spring was born here. And Tunisia has risen to high expectations by staying true to its ideals," Mr. Ban said, adding that both he and the Tunisian President are both deeply concerned about the situation in Libya.

"Here we see that with integrity, leadership, civic engagement and commitment, peaceful revolution leads to promising stability," Mr. Ban told reporters, commending the Tunisian Government and the Tunisian...