p Comrade Chairman, dear Comrades,

p The delegation of the Jordanian Communist Party Central Committee is happy to convey fraternal greetings to the CPSU delegation, and to all delegations of fraternal Communist and Workers’ Parties participating in this historic Meeting.

p Our delegation has come to it firmly convinced that it will further strengthen our movement’s unity. For what unites us is incomparably more important than the issues on which there are some differences.

p Relations between individual detachments of our movement are based on proletarian internationalism and a community of aims. And armed with Marxism-Leninism, our movement can overcome differences and difficulties and, having thus strengthened its unity, continue its victorious advance.

p This is not the first time differences and difficulties have arisen in the international communist movement; it has encountered many in its long history. But it has invariably overcome them and emerged victorious in the fight against hostile deviations and trends. We can anticipate the same now, too, all the more so, since the movement has gained in experience, maturity-and strength.

p Thanks to the responsible, collective and democratic way the Preparatory Committee approached its work, we have already surmounted many difficulties and resolved many differences. And we feel sure that, through united action, our movement will solve all outstanding problems and those that may arise in the course of the struggle.

p Dear comrades, the draft of the Main Document submitted to this Meeting is of vast theoretical and practical value for the world communist movement and all the revolutionary peoples. It maps out our goals in the fight against imperialism at the present stage and lays a firm and enduring foundation for united action of the Communist and Workers’ Parties and of all peoples ranged against imperialism.

p The Preparatory Committee’s searching analysis of the international situation is of especial importance. It clearly shows that imperialism’s counterattacks did not, and cannot, change the balance of forces in its favour.

p World imperialism, and particularly its US variety, is still able to launch 82 counter-attacks and score some temporary successes. But it will never succeed in reversing world development, or in preventing the collapse of capitalism and the world victory of socialism.

p Imperialism’s mounting aggressiveness does not betoken a changed balance of forces in its favour. It merely reflects its inherent aggressive nature, its progressing weakness and the sharpening of its internal contradictions and crises.

p The collapse of the US intervention in Vietnam, the failure of the Israeli aggressors, supported by American, British and West German imperialism, to achieve the main aims of their war against the Arab countries, and imperialism’s inability to unleash another world war—all this is concrete confirmation of the conclusion formulated in the draft of the Main Document that the forces of peace, national liberation, democracy and socialism retain their superiority in the international arena.

p However, as the Main Document indicates, this does not mean that imperialism no longer offers a constant menace to peace and progress. Hence, we must strengthen unity of the socialist countries and of the international communist movement, work for united action of. all peoples fighting imperialism, make maximum use of new opportunities, and launch a broad offensive on imperialism, on the forces of reaction and war.

p Developments in our area conclusively prove that imperialism is becoming more aggressive, but they also show that it cannot achieve its principal aims.

p By dint of heroic struggle, and thanks to the support of the Soviet Union and other socialist countries, the Arab peoples were able to overthrow the colonial regimes in a large part of their territory and continue their work in building the new life. Some Arab countries have set out on the road of social progress, but imperialism is making desperate efforts to bar that road, prevent national liberation and social progress, and to do that it resorts to diverse methods, down to outright armed aggression. In the past decade the Arab countries have twice been the victim of such outright aggression—in 1956, when Britain, France and Israel attacked Egypt, and in June 1967, when Israel, inspired and supported by the US, British and West German imperialists and the world Zionist movement, launched its aggression. Its aim was to overthrow the national progressive regimes in the United Arab Republic and Syria, deal a blow at the Arab national liberation movement, and undermine Arab friendship and co-operation with the Soviet Union and other socialist countries. The imperialist-Israeli alliance scored a clear military success. However, the firm stand of the Soviet Union and other socialist countries in siding with the Arab peoples prevented the aggressors from attaining their main goal.

p The Arab peoples are continuing the struggle to wipe out the consequences of the Israeli aggression, liberate the occupied territories, uphold the rights of the Palestinian Arabs, which Israel has grossly violated since 1948. And in this, too, the Arabs have the far-reaching assistance and support of the Soviet Union and other socialist countries.

p The Soviet Union is giving the Arab peoples, the victims of aggression, continuous support in enhancing their ability to eliminate the consequences of tae aggression. At the same time, true to its Marxist-Leninist policy of upholding the interests of the peoples and world peace, it is working towards a peaceful 83 settlement of the Middle East crisis in keeping with the November 1967 Security Council resolution.

p The efforts of the Soviet Union, including its participation in the Four-Power consultations for a just peaceful settlement of the Middle East crisis, fully accord with the interests of the Arab peoples and their movement for national and social liberation, including the interests of the Palestinian Arabs and their fight to regain their rights, in keeping with the UN resolution.

p Relations of friendship and alliance between the Soviet Union and other socialist countries, on the one hand, and the Arab peoples and their liberation movement, on the other, are the decisive and fundamental factor in the Arabs’ struggle to retain their independence and territorial integrity, in their just fight against the Israeli-imperialist aggression, for continued progress in building the new life.

p Supported by the world Zionist movement and by American, British and West German imperialism, the Israeli aggressors are escalating their provocations and armed actions against the Arab countries, notably the United Arab Republic and Jordan in flagrant defiance of the Security Council resolution and world public opinion.

p The Israeli invaders are operating a premeditated policy of expansion and annexation. They are building military settlements on occupied Arab territories and using barbarous methods to expel more and more of their inhabitants.

p The growing aggressiveness of Israel’s rulers clearly shows that they are set on an expansionist course, and exposes their infamous role in relation to the Arab peoples and their movement for national and social liberation—the role of rabid gendarmes of world imperialism and Zionism. These Israeli actions are a menace to world peace.

p Imperialist and Zionist propaganda has sought to .present the conflict in our area as a clash between Arabs and Jews. That is false and stupid, for what we have in reality is a clash between the Arab peoples and their national and social liberation movement, on the one hand, and the imperialist bloc, on the other. It has turned Israel into a base of aggression against the Arab peoples, their national and progressive regimes.

p The Arabs have never attacked Israel; it was Israel who was always the aggressor. In 1948, in defiance of UN resolutions, Israel occupied a large part of Arab Palestine, depriving over one million Palestinian Arabs of their homes. In 1956, in collusion with Britain and France, it attacked Egypt. In 1967 it started its dirty war against three Arab countries, and continues its aggressive and expansionist actions.

p The resistance of the population of the occupied territories, and the Arab struggle against aggression and Israeli occupation, are just and legitimate and should be supported by all anti-imperialist forces, by the world communist movement in the first place.

p The struggle of the Palestinian Arabs is legitimate and sacred, for its purpose is to expel the invader and regain the territory usurped by Israel in 1948 in defiance of UN resolutions; it is a fight to return exiled Palestinians to their homes and enable them to exercise their right to self-determination in their own country.

p The Jordanian Communist Party will continue to fight the Israeli aggression together with the Jordanian and other Arab peoples and progressive forces. Our Party supports the struggle of the Palestinian Arabs and their legitimate resistance to the invader, for the restoration of their usurped rights.

p Our delegation is deeply grateful to all fraternal Communist and Workers’ Parties who support the Arab peoples against imperialist-Zionist aggression. We appeal to all Parties represented here to continue their support and solidarity with the Arab peoples in their fight to eliminate the consequences of the aggression.

p Our delegation is in full agreement with the draft of the Main Document submitted to this Meeting. It considers it an effective weapon of the international communist movement in the struggle against imperialism, for peace, national liberation, democracy and socialism. Our Party believes that this Meeting, as the Main Document points out, marks a cardinal stage in uniting the world communist movement.

p Our Party avails itself of this opportunity to express its high appraisal of the outstanding part the glorious Communist Party of the Soviet Union and its Central Committee played in assuring the successful work of the Preparatory Committee, and of their consistent and resolute struggle in defence of world communist unity, of the purity of Marxism-Leninism against Right and “Left” opportunist distortions, against revisionism and dogmatism and Left-sectarian adventurism.

Thank you for your attention.