WELLINGTON - The New Zealand government on Monday welcomed a move by Spain for ministerial-level talks on the Middle East at the United Nations Security Council this week.

New Zealand holds a temporary seat on the UN Security Council for 2015-2016 and Foreign Minister Murray McCully said he would travel to New York to take part in the open debate.

"As the current president of the Security Council, Spain has announced that the council's quarterly public debate on the Middle East will this month be at ministerial-level given the significance of recent developments in the region," McCully said in a statement.

"The current levels of violence in the Middle East, and the urgent need to get the Middle East Peace Process back on track, have given the regular open debate greater urgency," he said.

"New Zealand has long called for the Security Council to work in a cohesive way to address some of these issues and we welcome Spain's decision to elevate this debate to ministers.(Xinhua)