1. The tenth session of the General Assembly has before it for consideration and decision questions concerning various sectors of international life. We may note with satisfaction that perhaps no session of the General Assembly in recent times has begun its work in such favourable and hopeful international conditions.
2. In relations between States a greater understanding, and an endeavour to settle outstanding international problems at the conference table, on a basis of equality and mutual goodwill have become apparent. The storms of the “cold war” have abated, and the groups and factions which had been sowing mistrust among the peoples for some of the post-war years by calling for a destructive atomic war, have to some extent been driven aside. There is a tendency, now, in the sphere of international relations, to admit a genuine policy of negotiation and of co-operation for the purpose of settling outstanding questions by peaceful means.
3. A number of events in recent times have determined this very important turn towards the easing of international tension and the strengthening of trust between States. By far the most significant of them was the Conference of Heads of Government of the four Powers at Geneva. The very fact of the meeting of Heads of Government of the four Powers — even more the spirit of mutual understanding which characterized that conference and the effort there made to co-operate and to create the conditions for peaceful settlement of international problems — in itself constitutes an important step towards the consolidation of peace and the ending of the cold war. The Conference's adoption of directives to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs was, as Mr. Bulganin, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, pointed out, the result of a search for generally acceptable solutions, in the course of which the interests of all those taking part in the negotiations were taken into account. It may be hoped that in carrying out the directives of Heads of Government the Ministers of Foreign' Affairs will make every effort to find solutions to the questions discussed at Geneva which will prove, acceptable to all interested parties.
4. The Geneva Conference was preceded by other events which contributed to the easing of international tension. Among them, mention should be made in the first place of the African-Asian Conference at Bandung. There was heard, at the Bandung Conference, the powerful voice of the newly-awakened peoples of Africa and Asia who expressed their unflinching will for freedom and independence, in unity, solidarity and cooperation with the peoples of other countries. The peoples once again asserted that their own progress and development, and the progress of mankind as a whole, were possible in conditions of peace, in conditions of peaceful coexistence between States, regardless of their political and social structures. The ten principles for international relations adopted by the Conference, like the five principles proclaimed earlier in the Chinese-Indian Declaration, show better than anything else to what a tremendous extent the part played by the popular masses of Africa and Asia, and indeed of all the peoples of the world, in settling the most important international problems, has grown, and how great is their influence on the fate of the world.
5. The easing of the international atmosphere is of great significance to the work of the United Nations. In these new conditions the Organization will be better able to carry out the tasks set before it by the Charter. We must strive to bring the Geneva spirit, the spirit of friendly co-operation between States, into the United Nations, bearing in mind that this would guarantee the fruitfulness of its work in general and a successful solution of the problems before the tenth session of the General Assembly in particular.
6. A vivid illustration of the way in which we ought to make use of the possibilities created by the Geneva Conference of Heads of Government of the four Powers was the scientific and technical International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy. Previously, the atmosphere of mistrust and the atomic psychosis had prevented normal contact between the scientists of various countries. But the scientists of 73 countries who met in Geneva a fortnight after the Conference of Heads of Government — scientists from the Soviet Ukraine among them — freely exchanged information about the open secrets of nature; they raised the curtain which had up to then hidden their progress in the matter of using the inexhaustible potentialities of atomic energy for peaceful ends.
7. The inauguration of broad scientific co-operation with the general object of making use of the great discoveries of our time, not for purposes of war and destruction, but for the good of mankind, will undeniably influence and strengthen friendly relations and mutual trust between nations.
8. To be true to the spirit of Geneva does not mean stopping half-way in the endeavour to solve international problems by peaceful means, but developing the successes already achieved. The Soviet Union, the Chinese People’s Republic and the people’s democracies, which have made a great contribution to the relaxation of international tension, have already, since the Geneva Conference taken certain steps, about which you know, for the further improvement of the international situation.
9. I must remind you once again of the Soviet Union’s reduction of its armed forces and also of the liquidation of its bases in foreign territory. Here are deeds, not words. These are no mere smiles, talk about which prevents some statesmen from looking into the heart of the matter.
10. The Ukrainian people warmly approves the normalization of relations between the Soviet Union and the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia, the conclusion of the Austrian State Treaty, and the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and the Federal Republic of Germany, all of which will help develop mutual understanding and co-operation between these States in the interests of peace and security in Europe.
11. It must be obvious to everybody that there has thus been an improvement in the international situation. Nor can we forget or underestimate the part played in this connexion by the popular masses, whose will for peace has shown itself stronger than the machinations of the groups and circles interested in the armaments race and the spreading of the fear of war. However, we must make a sober estimate of recent developments, not forgetting that we are so far only at the beginning of this new phase in the improvement of international relations, and that there are still many obstacles and difficulties in the way of the establishment of a lasting trust between States.
12. Certain facts show that some groups of people for whom the continuation of the “cold war” and the armaments race are a means of profit, are initiating attempts to hinder the settlement of international problems in the Geneva Spirit and in the real interests of the peoples of all countries. Still sitting in the crumbling trenches of the “cold war”, the representatives of these groups began immediately after Geneva to talk about the need to put the brakes on the spirit of optimism and hope which was beginning to grow among the peoples in consequence of the results of the Geneva Conference — hope, that is, for a speedy and complete end to the notorious “cold war”. They are trying to create the impression that these new aspects of international life and, consequently also the results achieved at Geneva towards the improvement of the general international atmosphere, are due to the policy of “positions of strength”. In fact, the Geneva Conference was successful precisely because the policy of “positions of strength” was laid aside. To cling to this policy at the present time is to live in the past. There is only one road to a lasting peace — the road of further improvement of relations and strengthening of trust between States.
13. The General Assembly should express its approval of the efforts States are making to relax international tension and it should call upon them to continue their efforts in the interest of general peace and security. Proposals of such a kind are contained in the draft resolution [A/2981] on Measures for the further relaxation of international tension and for the development of international co-operation which has been submitted by the USSR delegation for the consideration of the General Assembly at this session.
14. The Ukrainian delegation supports these proposals, for the United Nations General Assembly has no higher nor nobler task than that of eliminating the threat of a new war, of ensuring security and confidence in the morrow, and of creating the conditions for peace and general prosperity.
15. As everyone must realize, the establishment of lasting peace depends upon the solution of the disarmament problem. We shall take the opportunity at the appropriate time to go into this most important matter in detail in the First Committee. But in view of the very great importance attaching to a consideration of the proposals made by the Soviet Government [A/2979] on 10 May and 21 July 1955 regarding the reduction of armaments, the prohibition of atomic weapons and the elimination of the threat of a new war, as well as of the proposals made by the United States, England, France and other countries, we feel it necessary to spend some time on this question even now, although only in general terms.
16. The Soviet Union, as you know, is proposing a broad programme of disarmament, providing for the basic measures required to solve the problem of the reduction of armaments and the prohibition of atomic weapons. This programme is intended to strengthen mutual confidence between nations and thus to end the “cold war” which is poisoning the international atmosphere.
17. The Soviet proposals take into account the important proposals made by the Western Powers at different stages of the discussion of this question, in particular the proposal about the level of armaments, the reduction of armaments by stages and the prohibition of atomic weapons. It is necessary to emphasize another important feature of the Soviet proposals, which constitutes a new approach to the problem of controlling the reduction of armaments and the prohibition of atomic weapons.
18. As modern war requires the deployment and concentration of great land, sea and air forces, the new proposals provide that the international control organ shall set up, on a mutual basis, control posts in the important ports, at railway junctions, on motor highways and at aerodromes of the countries concerned. This means that the control posts will be able to have warning of any aggression which one country may prepare against another. The rights and powers of the international control organ are to be extended, as the disarmament programme is fulfilled and measures for the creation of an atmosphere of confidence in relations between States are implemented.
19. In the course of the general discussion, various points of view were expressed on individual aspects of the disarmament problem and it was emphasized that in a number of questions, the positions of the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and France had either come closer or had completely coincided. This circumstance gives ground for hope that it will be possible to find an acceptable basis for an international agreement on the reduction of armaments and the prohibition of atomic weapons.
20. The problem of the reduction of armaments is I closely linked with the creation of an effective system of I collective security in Europe. It is easy to see why the! Government of the Ukrainian SSR attaches very great importance to this problem. It must not be forgotten that the sanguinary and devastating wars in Europe have caused the Ukrainian people, like other peoples, countless victims and destruction. After the Second World War a great effort was required of our people to rebuild towns and villages which had been destroyed, and to restore industry and agriculture. But every war leaves wounds which cannot be healed. Millions of people perished on the battlefields fighting for a just cause.
21. The Ukrainian people, like other peoples, is vitally interested to see that the horrors of war do not recur, and that an effective system of security is created in Europe. The basic principles for the creation of such a system of security are, we are firmly convinced, laid down in the draft plan for a general European treaty proposed by the Soviet Union. The Soviet plan provides that measures for guaranteeing international security should be carried out in two stages.
22. During the first stage Governments would not be released from the obligations which they have undertaken under existing treaties and agreements, but they would be bound by an obligation to refrain from the use of armed force and to settle any disputes which might arise among them by peaceful means. In the second stage Governments would assume, slider an appropriate treaty, all the obligations arising from the creation of a system of collective security in Europe, and the North Atlantic Treaty, the Paris agreements and the Warsaw Treaty would simultaneously lapse in their entirety. These treaties and agreements would be liquidated and replaced by a general European system of collective security.
23. The formation of a general European system of security in accordance with the genuine interests of the nations of Europe and on the basis of a sober appraisal of the existing conditions in Europe “would help to create”, as Mr. Molotov rightly pointed out in his speech of 23 September, “more favourable conditions for the settlement of the German problem, including the problem of the restoration of German unity. The solution of this latter problem cannot be separated from the establishment of a general European security system, or from the question whether Europe is to become a potential hotbed of war or a bulwark of peace and international security” [520th meeting, para. 154].
24. We are in full agreement with this, and we think that the ensuring of peace in Europe would be reflected in the settlement of other international problems. This, in turn, would have a positive influence on the work of the United Nations.
25. The United Nations has entered the second decade of its existence. The experience of the first decade showed that the United Nations has played an important part in international relations. Its success in the future will depend on the extent to which it takes advantage of the new and real prospects for a thorough improvement of the international situation, and on the steps it takes to remove existing obstacles to the establishment of a lasting peace and of security for all nations. Effective action by the United Nations would speed up the development of international life in the direction most closely corresponding to the requirements of our time. The aspirations of African and Asian peoples to national independence and self-determination, aspirations which are becoming ever more persistent, must meet with deep understanding and support from all States Members and non-Members of the United Nations.
26. Another unresolved problem is that of the restoration of the legitimate rights of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations. A situation in which the great Chinese people, a great world Power, whose population constitutes a quarter of mankind, is absent from the United Nations is entirely abnormal. It is contrary to the purposes and principles of the Charter and by no means contributes to an improvement in the international situation.
27. As Mr. Nehru, the Prime Minister of India, has said: “The refusal of the United Nations to recognize the great People’s Republic of China is not only abnormal and contrary to the spirit of the Charter, but also constitutes a threat to the cause of peace, and the settlement of international problems.”
28. The United Nations cannot represent all peoples, if some States are refused admission for reasons devoid of juridical foundation and going counter to the purposes and principles of the Charter.
29. It is quite incorrect to assert that the question of the admission of new members has so far not been solved because of the existence of the so-called right of “veto”. In fact, the reason for the delay in solving this question is to be sought in the fact that there is prejudice against certain countries solely because they have a different social and economic structure. Objections to their admission have been raised in the interests of the continuation of the “cold war”, and this of course is contrary to the basic purposes of the United Nations.
30. The readiness of the Soviet delegation to support the simultaneous admission of 16 States to the United Nations — Albania, the Mongolian People’s Republic, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Finland, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, Jordan, Austria, Ceylon, Nepal, Libya, Laos and Cambodia — is evidence of the Soviet Union’s efforts to solve this important problem too in such a manner as to broaden international co-operation, to create confidence between States, and to strengthen the United Nations.
31. The United Nations can be strengthened only on the basis of respect for the sovereign equality of States, on the basis of the recognition and development of peaceful co-existence among the nations and of consistent and unconditional observance of one of the most important principles of the United Nations: the principle of concerted action and unanimity among the great Powers in deciding the most important problems, of the maintenance of international peace and security. The basic provisions and principles of the United Nations Charter, drafted ten years ago, and their progressive character confirmed by experience, must form the unshakeable basis of the work of the United Nations in the future also.
32. The Ukrainian delegation therefore considers that there is no need to take any measures for a revision of the Charter, because they would merely cause new friction between States, hinder the attainment of mutual understanding and shake the foundations of the United Nations. We are firmly convinced that in order to strengthen the United Nations we must seek, not a revision of the Charter, but strict observance of its basic provisions.
33. In conclusion, I should like to say that the General Assembly will be able to achieve positive results in the solution of the problems before it, if all Members, and in particular the great Powers which bear the main responsibility for the maintenance of peace, continue the efforts jointly undertaken for the settlement of outstanding international problems in accordance with die principles of peaceful co-existence and if they build their mutual relations in a spirit of co-operation and trust.