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p Comrades, in the period under review the Central Committee and the Soviet Government did their utmost to ensure peaceful conditions for communist construction in the USSR, to expose and frustrate action by the aggressive imperialist forces, and to defend socialism, the freedom of peoples and peace.

p Our policy has always combined firm rebuffs to aggression, and the constructive line of settling pressing international problems, and maintaining normal, and, wherever the situation allows, good, relations with states belonging to the other social system. As in the past, we have consistently stood up for the Leninist principle of peaceful coexistence of states, regardless of their social system. This principle has now become a real force of international development.

p Let me deal with the most important international problems which because of their acerbity or importance for the future have required our special attention.

p To start with the events in South-east Asia. The aggressive war started by US ruling circles in that part of the world has not brought the American people any victorious laurels but tens of thousands of funeral wreaths. Anyone capable of taking a realistic view of things must realise that neither direct armed intervention, nor torpedoing of negotiations, nor even the ever wider use of mercenaries will break down the Vietnamese people’s determination to become master of its own country.

p The so-called Vietnamisation of the war, that is, the 349 plan to have Vietnamese kill Vietnamese in Washington’s interests, and the extension of the aggression to Cambodia and Laos—none of this will get the USA out of the bog of its dirty war in Indochina or wash away the shame heaped on that country by those who started and are continuing the aggression. There is only one way of solving the Vietnamese problem. It is clearly indicated in the proposals of the DRV Government and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, proposals which we firmly back. (Prolonged applause.}

p The Soviet Union resolutely demands an end to the imperialist aggression against the peoples of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Our country has been and will be an active champion of the just cause of the heroic peoples of Indochina. (Applause.}

p The Middle East is another "hot spot" in world politics.

p The crisis which has arisen as a result of Israel’s attack on the UAR, Syria and Jordan has been one of the most intense in the development of international relations over the past period.

p Together with the fraternal socialist countries we did everything necessary to stop and condemn the aggression. We raised this question in the UN Security Council in the most resolute terms. An extraordinary session of the General Assembly was called on our demand. The USSR and other fraternal countries have broken off diplomatic relations with Israel, which has ignored the UN decision for a ceasefire. Our country has helped to restore the defence potential of the Arab states which were subjected to invasion, the UAR and Syria in the first place, with whom our co-operation has been growing stronger from year to year.

p The United Arab Republic recently came out with important initiatives. It announced its acceptance of the proposal put forward by the UN special representative, Dr. Gunnar Jarring, and readiness to conclude a peace agreement with Israel once the Israeli troops are withdrawn from the occupied Arab territories. The UAR has also proposed steps to resume navigation along the Suez Canal in the very near future. Thus, the attitude of the Arab side provides a real basis for settling the crisis in the Middle East. The Israeli Government’s rejection of all these proposals, and Tel Aviv’s now openly brazen claims to Arab lands 350 clearly show who is blocking the way to peace in the Middle East, and who is to blame for the dangerous hotbed of war being maintained in that area. At the same time, the unseemly role of those who are instigating the Israeli extremists, the role of US imperialism and of international Zionism as an instrument of the aggressive imperialist circles, is becoming ever more obvious.

p However, Tel Aviv ought to take a sober view of things. Do Israel’s ruling circles really expect to secure for themselves the lands of others they have occupied and to go scotfree? In the final count, the advantages obtained by the invaders as a result of their piratical attack are illusory. They will disappear as mirages pass from view in the sands of Sinai. And the longer the delay in reaching a political settlement in the Middle East, the stronger will be the indignation of world public opinion, and the Arab peoples’ hatred of the aggressor and its patrons, and the greater the harm the Israeli rulers will inflict on their people and their country.

p The Soviet Union will continue its firm support of its Arab friends. (Applause.} Our country is prepared to join other powers, who are permanent members of the Security Council, in providing international guarantees for a political settlement in the Middle East.

p Once this is reached, we feel that there could be a consideration of further steps designed for a military detente in the whole area, in particular, for converting the Mediterranean into a sea of peace and friendly co-operation.

p Comrades, Europe has been one of the most important lines in our foreign-policy activity all these years.

p The improvement in Soviet-French relations has had important positive consequences for the whole course of European affairs. As a result of the recent talks in Moscow with the President of France and the signing of a Protocol on Political Consultations, the possibilities of Soviet-French co-operation have been extended. Our peoples’ friendship rests on sound historical traditions. Today, our states also have an extensive sphere of common interests. We stand for the further development and deepening of relations between the USSR and France, and regard this as an important factor of international security.

p New prospects in Europe are opening up as a result of a substantial shift in our relations with the FRG.

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p Throughout the whole postwar period, we, like our allies and friends, have proceeded from the fact that lasting peace in Europe rests above all on the inviolability of the borders of European states. Now, the treaties of the Soviet Union and Poland with the FRG have confirmed with full certainty the inviolability of borders, including those between the GDR and the FRG, and the western border of the Polish state.

p There is a sharp demarcation of political forces in West Germany over the ratification of these treaties. One would assume that realistic-minded circles in Bonn, and also in some other Western capitals, are aware of this simple truth: delay over ratification would produce a fresh crisis of confidence over the whole of the FRG’s policy, and would worsen the political climate in Europe and the prospects for easing international tensions.

p As for the Soviet Union, it is prepared to meet the commitments it has assumed under the Soviet-West-German treaty. We are prepared to cover our part of the way towards normalisation and improvement of relations between the FRG and the socialist part of Europe, provided, of course, the other side acts in accordance with the letter and spirit of the treaty.

p The positive changes that have recently taken place in Europe do not mean that the problems Europe inherited from the Second World War have been fully solved. What is to be done to continue the improvement in the European situation, to make headway in ensuring collective security in Europe, and in developing co-operation both on a bilateral and on an all-European basis?

p An improvement of the situation in Europe as a whole could be served by the convocation of an all-European conference. This is now being backed by a majority of the European states. Preparations for it are being carried into the plane of practical politics. But attempts to prevent a detente in Europe have not ceased. All the states of this continent will still have to make serious efforts to bring about the convocation of an all-European conference.

p An improvement of the situation on the continent naturally requires that the Soviet-West-German and the PolishWest-German treaties should enter into force as soon as possible.

p There should also be a settlement of the problems connected with West Berlin If the USA, France and Britain 352 proceed, as we have done, from respect for the allied agreements which determine the special status of West Berlin, from respect for the sovereign rights of the GDR as an independent socialist state, the current negotiations could be successfully completed to the mutual advantage of all the parties concerned, including the West Berlin population itself.

p Another pressing task is establishment of equitable relations between the GDR and the FRG, based on the generally accepted rules of international law, and also admission of both these states to the United Nations.

p Considerable importance should also be attached to the satisfaction of the legitimate demand of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic that the Munich Agreement should be recognised as having been invalid from the outset.

p Comrades, disarmament is one of the most important international problems of our day. We seek to secure concrete results reducing the danger of war, and to prevent the peoples from accepting the arms race as an inevitable evil.

p A treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons was prepared and has entered into force in the period under review. Although far from all states, including some of the nuclear powers, have yet acceded to it, it does to a certain extent narrow down the danger of an outbreak of nuclear war. The important point now is to have the FRG, Japan, Italy and other countries back up their signatures to the treaty with its ratification.

p Treaties banning the stationing of nuclear weapons in outer space and on the sea- and ocean-floor have been concluded. But what has been achieved constitutes only the first few steps. It is our aim to bring about a situation in which nuclear energy shall serve peaceful purposes only.

p We are engaged in negotiations with the USA on a limitation of strategic armaments. Their favourable outcome would make it possible to avoid another round in the missile arms race, and to release considerable resources for constructive purposes. We are seeking to have the negotiations produce positive results.

p However, I should like to emphasise that disarmament talks in general, to say nothing of those involving discussion of highly delicate military-technical aspects, can be productive only if equal consideration is given to the security 353 interests of the parties, and if no one seeks to obtain unilateral advantages.

p The struggle for an end to the arms race, both in nuclear and conventional weapons, and for disarmament—all the way to general and complete disarmament—will continue to be one of the most important lines in the foreign-policy activity of the CPSU and the Soviet state. (Applause.)

p In recent years, the USSR’s relations with the countries of the capitalist world have been fairly active and diverse. With some of them co-operation has been extended on general foreign-policy issues, and political consultations promoting better mutual understanding have been accepted in practice. Economic, scientific and technical ties, in some instances resting on a long-term basis, have acquired considerable scale. For instance, we have been co-operating—on mutually advantageous terms, of course—with Italy in building the Volzhsky Auto Works, and with Austria and several other countries in developing the gas industry, including the laying of gas pipelines from the Soviet Union to Western Europe. Agreement was recently reached on the Soviet Union’s participation in setting up an iron-and-steel complex in France. Japanese companies are to co-operate in building a new port in the Far East. Other major projects, in which our business partners have displayed a keen interest, are at the discussion stage.

p As usual, we have devoted much attention to our relations with our neighbours. Good neighbourliness and cooperation with Finland have continued to grow stronger; our relations with Afghanistan and Iran have been developing successfully; we have normal relations with Pakistan and Turkey; our ties with Sweden are stable.

p Our friendly relations with India have developed considerably. The Indian Government’s pursuit of a peaceable, independent line in international affairs, and the traditional feelings of friendship linking the peoples of the two countries have all helped to deepen Soviet-Indian co-operation. ( Applause.)

p We believe there are considerable possibilities for further extending mutually advantageous co-operation with Japan, although the attempts by some Japanese circles to exploit the so-called territorial question have naturally done nothing to benefit Soviet-Japanese relations. Their complete 354 normalisation on an appropriate contractual basis is also being hampered by the existence of foreign military bases in Japan. The fact is that such normalisation would be in line with the long-term interests of the peoples of the two countries, and the interests of peace in the Far East and in the Pacific area.

p Now about the Soviet Union’s relations with the United States of America. An improvement of Soviet-American relations would be in the interests of the Soviet and the American peoples, the interests of stronger peace. However, we cannot pass over the US aggressive actions in various parts of the world. In the recent period, the US Administration has taken a more rigid stance on a number of international issues, including some which have a bearing on the interests of the Soviet Union. The frequent zigzags in US foreign policy, which are apparently connected with some kind of domestic political moves from short-term considerations, have also made dealings with the United States much more difficult.

p We proceed from the assumption that it is possible to improve relations between the USSR and the USA. Our principled line with respect to the capitalist countries, including the USA, is consistently and fully to practise the principles of peaceful coexistence, to develop mutually advantageous ties, and to co-operate, with states prepared to do so, in strengthening peace, making our relations with them as stable as possible. But we have to consider whether we are dealing with a real desire to settle outstanding issues at the negotiation table or attempts to conduct a "positions of strength" policy.

p Whenever the imperialists need to cover up their aggressive schemes, they try to revive the "Soviet menace" myth. They seek to find evidence of this threat in the depths of the Indian Ocean and on the peaks of the Cordilleras. And, of course, nothing but Soviet divisions prepared for a leap against the West are to be discovered on the plains of Europe if these are viewed through NATO field-glasses.

p But the peoples will not be deceived by the attempts to ascribe to the Soviet Union intentions which are alien to it. We declare with a full sense of responsibility: we have no territorial claims on anyone whatsoever, we threaten no one, and have no intention to attack anyone, we stand for. the free and independent development of all nations. But let 355 no one, for his part, try to talk to us in terms of ultimatums and strength. (Stormy, prolonged applause?)

p We have everything necessary—a genuine peace policy, military might and the unity of Soviet people—to ensure the inviolability of our borders against any encroachments, and to defend the gains of socialism. (Stormy, prolonged applause.)

p Comrades, the period under review marked the end of the quarter-century since the rout of Hitler Germany and militarist Japan. The fruits of that great victory still live in international realities today. The Soviet people cherish everything that has been attained at such great cost.

p For more than 25 years now, our people have lived in peace. We regard this as the greatest achievement of our Party’s foreign policy. For a quarter-century now, mankind has been safeguarded from world war. That is another historic achievement of the peoples to which the Soviet Union and its foreign policy have made a considerable contribution. However, the forces of aggression and militarism may have been pushed back, but they have not been rendered harmless. In the postwar years, they have started more than 30 wars and armed conflicts of varying scale. Nor is it possible to consider the threat of another world war as being completely eliminated. It is the vital task of all the peaceable states, of all the peoples, to prevent this threat from becoming reality. (Applause.)

p The Soviet Union has countered the aggressive policy of imperialism with its policy of active defence of peace and strengthening of international security. The main lines of this policy are well known. Our Party, our Soviet state, in co-operation with the fraternal socialist countries and other peace-loving states, and with the wholehearted support of many millions of people throughout the world, have now for many years been waging a struggle on these lines, taking a stand for the cause of peace and friendship among nations. The CPSU regards the following as the basic concrete tasks of this struggle in the present situation.

p First.

p To eliminate the hotbeds of war in South-east Asia and in the Middle East and to promote a political settlement in these areas on the basis of respect for the legitimate rights of states and peoples subjected to aggression.

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p To give an immediate and firm rebuff to any acts of aggression and international arbitrariness. For this, full use must also be made of the possibilities of the United Nations.

p Repudiation of the threat or use of force in settling outstanding issues must become a law of international life. For its part, the Soviet Union invites the countries which accept this approach to conclude appropriate bilateral or regional treaties.

p Second.

p To proceed from the final recognition of the territorial changes that took place in Europe as a result of the Second World War. To bring about a radical turn towards a detente and peace on this continent. To ensure the convocation and success of an all-European conference.

p To do everything to ensure collective security in Europe. We reaffirm the readiness expressed jointly by the participants in the defensive Warsaw Treaty to have a simultaneous annulment of this treaty and of the North Atlantic alliance, or—as a first step—dismantling of their military organisations.

p Third.

p To conclude treaties putting a ban on nuclear, chemical, and bacteriological weapons.

p To work for an end to the testing of nuclear weapons, including underground tests, by everyone and everywhere.

p To promote the establishment of nuclear-free zones in various parts of the world.

p We stand for the nuclear disarmament of all states in possession of nuclear weapons, and for the convocation for these purposes of a conference of the five nuclear powers— the USSR, the USA, the PRC, France and Britain.

p Fourth.

p To invigorate the struggle to halt the race in all types of weapons. We favour the convocation of a world conference to consider disarmament questions to their full extent.

p We stand for the dismantling of foreign military bases. We stand for a reduction of armed forces and armaments in areas where the military confrontation is especially dangerous, above all in Central Europe.

p We consider it advisable to work out measures reducing 357 the probability of accidental outbreak or deliberate fabrication of armed incidents and their development into international crises, into war.

p The Soviet Union is prepared to negotiate agreements on reducing military expenditure, above all by the major powers.

p Fifth.

p The UN decisions on the abolition of the remaining colonial regimes must be fully carried out. Manifestations of racism and apartheid must be universally condemned and boycotted.

p Sixth.

p The Soviet Union is prepared to deepen relations of mutually advantageous co-operation in every sphere with states which for their part seek to do so. Our country is prepared to participate together with the other states concerned in settling problems like the conservation of the environment, development of power and other natural resources, development of transport and communications, prevention and eradication of the most dangerous and widespread diseases, and the exploration and development of outer space and the world ocean.

p Such are the main features of the programme for the struggle for peace and international co-operation, for the freedom and independence of nations, which our Party has put forward. (Stormy, prolonged applause.)

p And we declare that, while consistently pursuing its policy of peace and friendship among nations, the Soviet Union will continue to conduct a resolute struggle against imperialism, and firmly to rebuff the evil designs and subversions of aggressors. As in the past, we shall give undeviating support to the peoples’ struggle for democracy, national liberation and socialism. (Stormy applause.)

p Comrades, it is clear from what has been said that the past five years have been a period of vigorous and intense activity by our Party and state in the sphere of international policy.

Of course, in international affairs not everything depends on us or our friends alone. We have not advanced in every sphere as fast as we should like towards the goals we set 358 ourselves. A number of important acts have yet to be brought to completion, and their importance will become fully evident later. But the overall balance is obvious: great results have been achieved in these five years. Our country’s international position has become even stronger, its prestige has been enhanced, and the Soviet people’s peaceful endeavour has reliable protection. (Prolonged applause.}