40. Mr. President, on behalf of the Greek delegation, I should like to express to you our pleasure at the fact that the General Assembly is meeting under your presidency this year. In congratulating you on your election, which is both a tribute to your country and an expression of the high regard in which you yourself are held, we should also like to wish you the greatest success in the fulfilment of the task, as important as it is arduous, that has been entrusted to you.
41. I should also like to pay tribute to the outgoing President, Mr. Corneliu Manescu, for the competent and effective way in which he fulfilled his heavy duties throughout a difficult year that was fraught with complex problems.
42. My Government fully shares the concerns to which the Secretary-General gives expression in his annual report [A/7201 and Add.1].
43. There is no question of underestimating what the United Nations has already been able to achieve. Nevertheless, it must be recognized that we are far from having been able to fulfil the hopes of our peoples. Thus, it is our duty to make up a balance-sheet of the present world situation and to draw the unavoidable conclusions. In so doing, I shall attempt briefly to express my Government’s opinion on some of the problems that deserve particular attention and on the way in which it has, in so far as lay in its power, fulfilled its duties.
44. Faithful to the principles of the United Nations Charter and desirous of devoting its utmost efforts to the strengthening of peace, my Government has made an effort to contribute to the marked improvement in the conditions that currently exist in the Republic of Cyprus, as well as in our relations with our neighbour, Turkey. Greece played a prominent part in solving the very grave crisis of November 1967. Giving effect to a series of appeals addressed to the parties by the Secretary-General, the Greek Government took concrete steps that opened the way to pacification. For its part, the Turkish Government also responded to the appeal made by the Secretary-General, and the Government of the Republic of Cyprus, accepting the Secretary-General’s offer of good offices, submitted to him concrete proposals on certain aspects of the Cyprus question, proposals that provided a basis for the direct contacts between Greek and Turkish Cypriots also suggested by U Thant.
45. In addition, the President of the Republic of Cyprus took internal measures for pacification which quickly led to a marked improvement in the situation on the island. It is to be hoped that the leaders of the Turkish community will for their part do their utmost to find a way to contribute effectively to the success of the efforts undertaken by the negotiators.
46. It is evident that the current talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriots do not cover all the questions that make up the Cyprus problem, and other contacts in a larger framework will be necessary before an over-all solution can be reached.
47. For the moment, we are hopeful that the two parties will give evidence of an equal spirit of goodwill and realism and that their present talks will result in eliminating all sources of friction. That will constitute a notable step towards the ultimate solution.
48. I should like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to all who have played a part in those encouraging developments, and especially to the personal contribution of our Secretary-General, who has constantly lent his support towards achieving the aims of the Security Council.
49. The evolution of the situation in Cyprus has led to a marked improvement in Greek-Turkish relations. Thus, in joint agreement with the Turkish Government, we have been able to undertake the study of some questions of purely bilateral interest that had been pending throughout the duration of the crisis. The progress we have been able to achieve is already becoming evident in several areas.
50. That fortunate evolution leads me to express the firm hope that Greece and Turkey will resume their role in that part of the world in the same spirit that inspired them between 1930 and 1950, to the benefit of the international community and more especially of the peoples of the two countries.
51. The renewal of trustful relations with Turkey, the friendly relations existing between the Yugoslav people and ourselves, and the normalizing of our relations with Bulgaria and Romania following the settlement of the differences that resulted from the implementation of the 1947 Peace Treaty, are providing opportunities for the establishment of peaceful coexistence in that region of the world.
52. Those heartening developments, as well as the Greek Government’s firm resolve to pursue its policy of good relations with all members of the international community irrespective of their political and social system — a policy based on respect for sovereignty, independence and non-interference in the domestic affairs of other countries — led me last April to speak of the possibility of drawing up a new statute of relations among the Balkan States, a sort of code of international good conduct that would define more clearly the duties incumbent on each State. Such a statute could in particular lay down the rules to be followed in the area of non-intervention in the domestic affairs of States and in the matter of intergovernmental consultation whenever common interests might be involved, especial care being naturally taken not to impact upon commitments already entered into with respect to other countries. Indeed, there is a wide area in which effective co-operation between the Balkan countries could take place for the furthering of their common interests without bringing their diplomatic policies into question. Those ideas, which have in fact been under study for a long time within our
Organization, cannot of course be put forward except in an atmosphere of mutual trust based on a sincere desire for détente and for the friendly settlement of existing problems.
53. In any event, we would need an over-all atmosphere of calm and of increasing trust, for only in such an atmosphere can generous and beneficial ideas prosper. But several serious events have recently occurred that darken the horizon and trouble our thoughts.
54. Despite the heartening developments that marked the beginning of the year, the conditions under which the current session of the General Assembly is opening are none the less disquieting.
55. First of all, we have the Middle East crisis, which has proved insoluble thus far and therefore lies open to further complications that would be even more serious. That crisis is thus a principal threat to peace in a highly sensitive region.
56. At previous General Assembly sessions, the Greek delegation had occasion to state its position on the Middle East situation, which continues to be the scene of grave and murderous incidents and of terrible human suffering. The situation in that part of the world is governed by an intransigence which does nothing to heal wounds that remain open.
57. Notwithstanding the praiseworthy efforts of Mr. Jarring, the Secretary-General’s special representative, who has worked unceasingly towards the achievement of the objectives set forth in Security Council resolution 242(1967) of 22 November 1967, the path to a peaceful settlement remains closed. Yet everyone realizes that peace can be achieved neither by conquest and territorial expansion nor by violation of the United Nations resolutions.
58. The Security Council reaffirmed what had already been recognized and upheld by the world’s conscience, namely, that acquisition of territory through military conquest is inadmissible. A war, even a victorious war, cannot solve the problems it claims to settle. It can only aggravate existing resentments and render peaceful co-existence between neighbours more vulnerable.
59. Terrorism and reprisals for their part also solve nothing and only lead to new acts of violence.
60. If we wish to break out of that vicious circle, a just, equitable and lasting settlement must be sought through negotiation, of whatever nature and method.
61. Greece, whose bonds of uninterrupted friendship With the peoples of the region are age-old, and which wishes to see peoples living in peace, considers that the resolution of 22 November 1967 provides the basis for such a settlement. Greece urges the parties to the conflict to give evidence of a moderate and realistic spirit and, availing themselves of the untiring efforts of the Special Representative, to move towards a settlement that could lead to peace.
62. At the same time the implementation of the principles of the settlement of disputes by peaceful means, of respect for sovereignty and independence, and of non-intervention in the domestic affairs of other States — principles that lie at the very basis of the resolution of 22 November 1967 — must be carried out not only in the Middle East, but everywhere in the world. Those principles must be scrupulously and consistently respected by every member of the international community. That is the only way in which professions of faith in the principles of our Charter will take on the quality of acts of high international morality and cease to be tactical manoeuvres serving purely opportunistic ends.
63. The tragic events that have taken place in Central Europe have filled us with the deepest dismay. The violation of the principles of non-intervention and free self-determination has been recognized as a direct threat by every country that regards respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter as the best assurance of and safeguard for its own sovereignty and independence.
64. What occurred in Czechoslovakia has thwarted lengthy efforts undertaken towards achieving better understanding among the Members of our Organization and has shown us that in certain circles, the policy of détente and the respect for the self-determination of populations are far from having become the rule of conduct on all occasions.
65. The condemnation of that action by nearly all countries, irrespective of their political and social systems, of their orientation and of their loyalties, has given clear and eloquent proof that the international community, whose moral core has been greatly strengthened by that crisis, is not prepared to acknowledge any mitigating circumstance or any justification for aggression whatsoever, from wherever it may come. We are no longer living in the distant past when Talleyrand could say: “Non-intervention is a metaphysical and political term that means more or less the same thing as intervention".
66. Indeed, we reject the concept according to which adherence to this or that system of alliance deprives the members of that alliance of the right of adapting their domestic developments to their own particular circumstances. And we are even less ready to grant the strongest State in such an alliance the right to watch over the ideological orthodoxy of its members.
67. That is not only an offence repugnant to any conscience that cares in the slightest for its national dignity. It is more than a crime; it is a mistake, for it means plunging the international community into a state of increased and dangerous. confusion that could enable each member to interfere as it pleases in the affairs of others, to foment internal conflicts and to enlarge without limit the areas of friction among peoples, rather than to reduce them.
68. Thus the Assembly had very compelling reasons to condemn intervention — of any sort and under any circumstances - in the domestic affairs of any country in its resolution 2136(XX). A State’s adherence to an ethnic, ideological or other bloc can in no way entail the alienation or limitation of its sovereign rights.
69. The foregoing remarks lead us to the conclusion that even the pretexts under cover of which the invasion — in itself blameworthy — took place have no foundation in the norms that are now generally accepted as controlling international life and inter-State relations, nor in plain common sense.
70. Since the idea of peace is indivisible, we cannot avoid concern over the continuation of the war in Viet-Nam. Peace-loving peoples are all too deeply aware of the increasing tempo of material destruction as well as of the sufferings and the frightful loss of life entailed. Thus there was widespread satisfaction when a few months ago, following serious peace proposals repeated on several occasions from this very rostrum by the United States of America, negotiations were entered in Paris. Nevertheless, it is disappointing to note that five months later, the negotiations are only marking time. United States limitation of bombing has not led to a reciprocal move on the part of North Viet-Nam, which has, on the contrary, increased its troop infiltrations and intensified its attacks against civilian centres in the South. Hanoi’s condemnations of the so-called imperialist plans of the Western Powers cannot conceal its burden of responsibility for the continuation of the Viet-Nam war and for the prolongation of the sufferings inflicted on the people of that unfortunate country.
71. It is true that in the area of disarmament and the regulation of armaments we have this year recorded some encouraging results. The conclusion of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons [resolution 2373(XXII)] is an important event, especially when viewed within the broader context of its influence on efforts being made towards general and complete disarmament under international control.
72. As a non-nuclear country, Greece has expressed in the past and continues to express certain misgivings concerning the situation that might one day result from “nuclear blackmail”. Nevertheless, hopeful that the conclusion of the non-proliferation treaty would lead to increased trust among the great Powers and contribute to world-wide security, the Greek Government lost no time in signing that instrument.
73. The Greek Government expresses the genuine hope that this initiative will be followed by other efforts leading to general disarmament and consequently towards international détente. That is in conformity with the principles and goals of Greek policy, which is aimed at the maintenance and strengthening of peace.
74. The participation in our labours of a new African State, Swaziland, to which I extend my greetings and best wishes, is further evidence of the progress the international community has been able to achieve on the road to decolonization.
75. Finally, allow me to conclude with some thoughts of a general nature on the present state of the world.
76. I am certain that no one in this Hall will be surprised if I stress the truly serious nature of the situation — serious not solely because of the fact that difficult and inextricable problems are accumulating around us. Very often in the past we have been able to surmount crises that have been far more serious, and the world’s confidence in our Organization has survived them and has been strengthened.
77. What is giving the current crisis in international relations its alarming character can be summed up by reference to two sets of facts whose coexistence, whether accidental or not, bodes ill for the future.
78. First of all there is an increase in areas of friction and misunderstanding among nations and individuals. The clearest concepts, finally formulated through the thought or ethics of nations over the centuries, are today understood differently, according to the ideological disciplines to which they are obliged to conform.
79. Words themselves, “beacons of human thought designed to guide it through the night of time", are in the process of distorting reality instead of illuminating it. And international public opinion, hypnotized to an increasing degree by the repetition of ready-made formulae, divided into irrevocably hostile camps, has ceased to exert any corrective influence on this state of affairs.
80. In addition, by virtue of that situation and of many other additional elements to which it inevitably gives rise, we are coming to accept as normal the immunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of international infractions when faced with faits accomplis that can only be reversed by force. It seems to me that here is an ultimate step in the development of our international institutions that we cannot ignore. Today I shall limit myself to pointing out that, in the light of many precedents drawn from ancient times and of other similar attempts in modern times, the phase of immunity can today also portend the approaching collapse of our hopes for a new world. Therefore we must act, and act swiftly.
81. There is no need to rise up in indignation against this state of affairs and to call for the moral recovery of mankind. What we need today above all is a labour of conciliation, of construction, of pacification, no matter how limited its extent and its scope. If each of us were to contribute all his determination, goodwill and imagination and were to succeed in extinguishing hotbeds of discord in his own part of the world and in promoting understanding with his neighbours, a notable result could in the long run be achieved from which our whole international community would benefit.
82. It is in that spirit that the Greek Government has tried, as I have had the honour to explain, to serve the cause of the United Nations. It will continue to do so with the same faith and the same perseverance, convinced that in so doing it is setting an example of reasoned and effective devotion to the service of peace.