Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic

1. Mr. President, on behalf of the delegation of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic I wish to join in the congratulations which have already been addressed to you here on your unanimous election as President of this session of the General Assembly. 2. It is gratifying to observe that this election symbolizes, as it were, the recognition accorded to the greater role being played in contemporary world affairs by the independent States which have thrown off the fetters of colonial servitude, and in particular by the independent States of Africa. 3. Your election is at the same time a tribute to the Republic of Ghana, which is well known as a champion of peace and for which the Byelorussian people have the sincerest feelings of friendship. 4. A tradition has grown up in the General Assembly of engaging in an exchange of views at the beginning of each session on problems not only of concern to individual countries but affecting the interests of all the peoples of the world. This is a good tradition. In exchanging views we learn more about the interests of our countries, and this makes us better able to understand our common interests and, in the final analysis, to adopt appropriate decisions for the maintenance of international peace and security and to promote friendly relations among States. 5. The delegation of the Byelorussian SSR considers that the efforts of peoples to ensure peace and peaceful coexistence among States with different social systems have led in recent times to a whole series of encouraging advances that are having a favourable effect on the world situation. The Moscow Treaty, which limited the scope of the nuclear arms race and demonstrated the desire of the great majority of States for further efforts to discontinue hazardous nuclear testing in all environments, has been followed by other agreements which also limit the process of stockpiling or refining lethal weapons or which lay a firmer groundwork for co-operation in the interests of peace and progress. 6. Nevertheless, there is as yet no reason for us to feel complacent. In various parts of the globe aggressive forces are creating hotbeds of tension that are fraught with dangers for the entire world. We are witnessing increasingly extensive intervention in South Viet-Nam, provocations against the Republic of Cuba, shameful interference in the domestic affairs of the Congo aimed at crushing the national patriotic forces there, and attempts to suppress the struggle of the people for freedom and independence in Angola, Aden, Oman and many other territories. It is thus abundantly clear that the United Nations cannot relax its efforts to give effect to the purposes laid down in its Charter. Indeed, now more than ever it is a matter of utmost urgency to strengthen the action of the United Nations on behalf of world peace and progress and to make the Organization more effective. 7. There is no doubt that these purposes can be achieved primarily by eliminating past and present violations of the United Nations Charter and by ensuring the strictest and most scrupulous observance of all its provisions, which are fully binding on all Members of the Organization. It is precisely lack of respect, and even disregard, for the common interests of the United Nations as set out in its Charter that have lately brought about the so-called financial crisis of the United Nations, in which certain countries have tried to impose on others joint responsibility for unilateral actions undertaken by colonialist forces. As you know, this unwarranted pressure and these groundless threats are endangering the viability of our Organization, and particularly the work of this session of the General Assembly. You know, too, that thanks to the spirit of realism displayed by the majority of the Members of the United Nations, and thanks also to the generous and persistent efforts by peace-loving States, and above all the Soviet Union, the search for ways of eliminating the difficulties in the interests of the entire Organization is continuing. What does not contribute to the success of this search is the dramatizing of the difficulties and the ambition to use them for purposes inconsistent with the interests of peace. That is how we interpret. for instance, the statement made by Mr. Martin, the representative of Canada [1294th meeting], whose pessimism and prejudice can only complicate the settlement we all hope to achieve. 8. In his statement of 7 December of this year in the General Assembly, Mr. Gromyko, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the USSR [1292nd meeting], outlined a broad foreign policy programme the peace- loving character of which has been confirmed by the recent decision of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to effect a further major reduction in the military budget of the Soviet Union. The constructive proposals set forth in the Memorandum of the Soviet Government on measures for the further reduction of international tension and limitation of the arms race [A/5827 and Corr.l] show this to be a sweeping programme for peace consonant with the interests of all peoples. The Memorandum is imbued with a firm belief in man's ability to solve the problems besetting him. It is filled with a determination not to yield before difficulties but to persevere in seeking practical ways of strengthening peace. Yet some attempts have already been made to discredit these new efforts of the Soviet Government. The delegation of the Byelorussian SSR views these attempts as a smoke-screen which the forces opposed to a relaxation of tension are using in a deliberate effort to cling to old positions - of phrase-mongering and barefaced denial. Is it not time, however, to relinquish once and for all these positions which have been condemned, let us note, by the majority of those who have spoken in this debate? Is it not time to take a realistic and practical approach to the proposals advanced? After all, no matter how much we tell the world that we want a relaxation of tension, there will be no relaxation of tension so long as proposals to that end are not given serious and unbiased consideration. 9. The delegation of the Byelorussian SSR is firmly convinced that the time has come when an understanding must be reached among the States Members of the United Nations on how to increase the effectiveness of the Organization in the safeguarding of international peace and security. A good basis for practical negotiations in this matter is provided, we believe, by the Memorandum of the Government of the USSR regarding certain measures to strengthen the effectiveness of the United Nations in the safeguarding of international peace and security [A/5721]. 10. We are also convinced that the authority and prestige of the United Nations as an agency for international co-operation among equal partners in the interests of peace and the well-being of nations would be enhanced by an international agreement on the renunciation by States of the use of force for the settlement of territorial disputes and conflicts between sovereign States [see A/5751]. Such an agreement, being a development of the tenets of the United Nations, would bring about a considerable easing of the international situation and create favourable conditions for increased confidence among States. The fact is that the present generation has inherited from the old world, dominated by the colonialists, many unresolved territorial disputes. Looking at the political map of the world, we find dozens of territories to which various States lay claim. At the present time, some fifty serious territorial claims are being made by some States against others, and an approximately equal number of less important boundary disputes are in progress. The achievement of an agreement on the peaceful settlement of territorial disputes would be of major significance to all countries and to the cause of world peace. 11. The delegation of the Byelorussian SSR fully shares the concern about the future of the United Nations voiced in the annual report of the Secretary- General on the work of the Organization [A/5801 and A/5801/Add.l]. Despite its shortcomings in certain respects, this report is imbued with a desire for greater unity in our Organization and greater effectiveness in its action. The question of the universality of the United Nations, raised by the Secretary- General in his report, deserves close attention. We believe that in questions pertaining to membership, as in other questions as well, the United Nations must bear in mind the objective facts of history; it must become a truly universal organization. The delegation of the Byelorussian SSR takes the view that the United Nations cannot fully meet the hopes of mankind so long as the People's Republic of China remains outside it. Those who impede the restoration of the rights of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations do irreparable damage to the Organization's prestige. It is time, high time, to expel from the United Nations the followers of Chiang Kai-shek, who are occupying the place of People's China. 12. The Byelorussian people, who experienced all the horrors of the Second World War and suffered irreparable losses, are doing everything in their power, together with peoples of other peace-loving countries, to spare future generations from ever again being plunged into a world holocaust. The great scientific and technological revolution of our age, which has opened boundless prospects for human progress but which has also created weapons of vast destructive power, has confronted the United Nations with a new historical situation in which the peaceful coexistence of countries with different social systems represents the sole possible basis for achieving uninterrupted economic and social progress. 13. The policy of peaceful coexistence of States with different social systems, which the Government of the Byelorussian SSR has always pursued and which was confirmed by the decisions of the twentieth and twenty-second congresses of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, is the only policy which is practicable and consistent with conditions in the present- day world, a world undergoing a process of revolutionary renewal. This policy is directed at preventing a general thermonuclear war and achieving the negotiated settlement of disputes between States. This policy respects the right of all peoples to choose freely and independently the social and governmental system they prefer, and it supports the liberation struggle of peoples. It has been a tremendous victory for all progressive forces that the necessity of peaceful coexistence is now recognized by nearly all the countries of the world. Clearly, a better weapon is needed for man's security than the hydrogen bomb or the ballistic missile, and that better weapon is world co-operation. If States with different social systems would adhere to the principles of peaceful coexistence not only in words, but in deeds, man would find it in his power to solve all the problems confronting him. 14. Unfortunately, however, there are some very powerful military forces in the world that do not wish to accept the policy of peaceful coexistence. These forces support the policy of negotiating from a position of strength, a policy of threats and overt interference in the affairs of other States, and of violence and discrimination, through which the selfish mercenary interests of an insignificant minority are served. 15. I would ask whether the interests of the peoples of the world are being served by the continuing military adventure in South Viet-Nam which is bringing death to tens of thousands of people whose only fault is to aspire to an independent existence. The answer is no, for by reason of this adventure the sovereignty of the peoples of South-East Asia is being violated, and the existence of all mankind is being jeopardized. The delegation of the Byelorussian SSR considers that the provocations of United States warships in the Gulf of Tonkin, the attacks of military aircraft on the territory of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam and the intervention of armed forces in South Viet-Nam constitute acts of aggression. The Byelorussian SSR emphatically condemns this aggression and declares its complete solidarity with the heroic people of Viet-Nam in their just struggle for independence and the unification of their country according to democratic principles. It supports the declaration of 12 December 1964 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam and demands the immediate cessation of the intervention in Laos, the aggression in South Viet-Nam and the provocations that are creating tension throughout Indo-China. 16. Then, again, take the situation in the Congo. Clearly in this case we are confronted with a vast conspiracy by the international forces of reaction against a democratic people's movement, with intervention in the domestic affairs of this long-suffering State, and with an attempt to force upon it a particular foreign and domestic policy. It is said that in 1960 the Congo was not prepared for the declaration of its independence, and this — they say — was one of the reasons for the internal tension. These assertions are entirely false. The Congolese people, like all the other African peoples, are capable of solving their problems independently, but the combined forces of the colonialist or pro-colonialist breed have thus far prevented them from doing so. 17. The fresh aggression in the Congo aroused great indignation among the Byelorussian people. There was a wave of mass protest meetings throughout the land against the intervention by the United States, United Kingdom and Belgian forces in the affairs of the young African State. The Byelorussian SSR fully shares the justified anger of those African States which have viewed the interference in Congolese domestic affairs as an encroachment on the independence won by the Africans after a difficult struggle of many years. 18. These same forces, which will not keep their hands off South-East Asia, the Congo and other territories where a tense situation exists, are to blame for initiating and prolonging the disastrous arms race and its attendant nuclear weapons tests. 19. Stockpiles of lethal nuclear weapons have now reached astronomical proportions. Eminent scientists contend that, should a thermonuclear war break out, it would—in the first two months alone — result in the death of one out of every three persons on earth. In other words, it would annihilate over 1,000 million people. 20. It is frightening to think of the vast sums of money devoured by the monstrous arms race. It is estimated that, over the past seventeen post-war years, the direct and indirect military expenditure of the United States of America alone amounted to $900,000 million, and this sum includes many thousands of millions of dollars extorted by the United States of America from the less developed and dependent countries. The New York Times of 15 April 1964 reported that, of 400,000 engineers and scientists in the United States of America, over 50 per cent were employed exclusively in military sectors of production. 21. We are convinced that, if a stop is not put now to the further stockpiling of armaments, the world will draw even nearer to a destructive nuclear- missile war that will recognize no boundaries or subtle political distinctions but will speak only one language—the language of death. There is no need to argue here that the only way out of the impasse of the arms race, the only way to avert the threat of a world war, is general and complete disarmament. 22. Although, as rightly noted in the annual report of the Secretary-General, "more significant progress in achieving some measure of disarmament has taken place since the summer of 1963 than in all the years since the founding of the United Nations" [A/5801/ Add.l, sect. II], the question of disarmament is still unresolved. Again this year, the work of the Eighteen- Nation Committee on Disarmament did not lead to any practical solutions. 23. The delegation of the Byelorussian SSR is concerned that the Western Powers — by refusing to give serious consideration to the realistic proposals, imbued with a sound spirit of compromise, made by the Soviet Union and other socialist countries, and by disregarding the wishes of the non-aligned States which are sincerely seeking to promote progress in the negotiations—continue to obstruct the settlement of this problem so vitally important for all mankind. 24. We are convinced that the key to a solution of the disarmament problem continues to lie primarily in a radical solution of the problem of nuclear disarmament with a view to eliminating the threat of thermonuclear war from the very outset of the implementation of the disarmament programme. This problem could be completely solved on the basis of the so-called "nuclear umbrella" proposed by the Soviet Government as early as last year. 25. Rendering a deserved tribute to the efforts of the Soviet Union to achieve disarmament, I should like to draw the attention of the distinguished representatives to the fact that although the USSR has a realistic programme for disarmament, it is still prepared to consider any other proposals if their aim is really disarmament. On 6 November 1964 Mr. Brezhnev, the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, declared: "There are various proposals as to what aspects of disarmament are now to be considered of primary importance, as to who should conduct the negotiations and at what level. In the Soviet Union's view, the important point is that disarmament should go forward and that there should be concrete results." 26. My delegation would like to point out here that this basic stand of the Soviet Government is fully in accord with the proposal of the Cairo Conference of Non-Aligned Countries for the convening of a world disarmament conference; we welcome and fully approve of that proposal. In the opinion of the delegation of the Byelorussian SSR, the peace-loving peoples must intensify their efforts to secure general and complete disarmament. 27. There are events taking place at this time which dim our hopes and lessen the prospects for achieving solutions in the interests of all mankind. I refer to the notorious plans for the creation of the so-called NATO "multilateral nuclear force". The Byelorussian SSR emphatically condemns these plans, the principal proponents of which are the United States of America and West Germany. We are convinced that the establishment of a NATO "multilateral force" will dangerously accelerate the arms race, lead to the further spread of nuclear weapons and complicate the entire international situation. As long ago as 4 December 1961, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling upon the nuclear Powers to refrain from transferring control of nuclear weapons, and upon the non-nuclear Powers not to manufacture or otherwise acquire control of such weapons [resolution 1665 (XVI)]. Only recently a similar appeal to the great Powers was made at the Cairo Conference of Non-Align Countries. However, the United States of America and those who follow its lead on the question of the multilateral nuclear force choose to disregard the resolutions of the General Assembly and the appeal of the non-aligned countries. 28. Although the NATO multilateral nuclear fleet cannot change the established relationship between the main forces, it will prove to be a source of fresh provocations and crises. It must be stressed that, through the machinery of the NATO nuclear forces, the West German army, the leaders of which are now openly calling for a revision of the results of the Second World War, will in some form or other gain access to atomic weapons. My delegation is convinced that if the militaristic circles in the Federal Republic of Germany secure for themselves even a small measure of nuclear control, they will be able to involve their NATO allies in a disastrous adventure. 29. Many responsible persons in the West understand this danger. Thus, in a leading article in the United Kingdom conservative newspaper Daily Express of 31 August 1964, it was stated: "Twice Germany has been powerful enough to plunge the world into war for the sake of its ambitions, and twice it has done so. Now West Germany has the same, ambitious plans, but fortunately it does not have the means to put them into effect. Any proposal for granting it even minimal control over weapons of mass destruction is madness (madness, gentlemen) and must be categorically rejected." It must be acknowledged that there is good cause for this mistrust. 30. The Byelorussian delegation considers that the further spread of nuclear weapons in any form —whether by direct transfer to other countries, by granting access to such weapons through military blocs or by stationing such weapons on the territory of other States — must be prevented. There must be no loop-holes allowing atomic weapons to be spread throughout the world. 31. The Government of the Byelorussian SSR attaches particular importance to the establishment of nuclear-free zones in various regions of the world, which would be in the interests of all mankind and would further the aims of general and complete disarmament and the prohibition of nuclear weapons. It is gratified to observe the growing number of African, Latin American, Asian and other States which are sincerely and persistently seeking to establish nuclear-free zones. It welcomes their noble efforts and trusts that these will result in effective practical measures. 32. The Byelorussian people continue to view as abnormal a situation in which, almost twenty years after the capitulation of the Hitler Reich which started a war costing the lives of many millions, a final German peace settlement has not been reached. What is more, there has been kept in existence in the heart of Europe to this day a situation capable of engendering a new world war. The militarist revenge seeking forces continue to expand. 33. The threat to peace from West Germany is not now a myth or fable. The West German Bundeswehr has at present a force of approximately half a million officers and men. Having created powerful armed forces equipped with conventional weapons, the leaders of the Federal Republic of Germany are eager to secure atomic weapons in any possible way, including the manufacture of atomic and hydrogen weapons on their own soil. They openly demand the incorporation of the German Democratic Republic, West Berlin and territories belonging to other States as well. In our opinion, the aggressive, adventurist forces are increasingly gaining the upper hand in the Federal Republic of Germany. While fascist Germany spent 90,000 million marks on preparations for the Second World War, the expenditure of the Federal Republic of Germany on military preparedness has already reached the sum of 150,000 million marks. The military expenditure of the Federal Republic of Germany is now the highest among the Western countries, with the sole exception of the United States of America. 34. An indication of Bonn's aggressive intentions is the recent campaign in the Federal Republic of Germany for the rehabilitation of fascist criminals responsible for the brutal extermination of civilians and prisoners of war. The Byelorussian SSR, which lost almost 20 per cent of its population in the last war, views the intention of the Federal Republic of Germany to cease instituting proceedings against persons responsible for the commission of crimes during the period of fascist aggression as a blatant challenge to all the countries that fought against the Hitler tyranny. 35. The Byelorussian SSR considers that the German question must be settled solely and exclusively on the basis of respect for the real facts existing in the world and on German soil, that is to say, on a basis of recognition of the sovereign German States — the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany — a basis of juridical confirmation of the existing frontiers of the German States, and a basis of normalization of relations with the two German States and of relations between the German States themselves. It also considers that the German question cannot be solved until the Federal Republic of Germany renounces any attempt to secure nuclear weapons. 36. The Byelorussian SSR cannot be indifferent to the fate of the fraternal socialist State of Cuba, which is being subjected to unceasing plots, threats and overt subversion. We consider the economic blockade of Cuba to be a special form of aggression against this sovereign State. We have also been witnesses to the violation of Cuban sovereignty by United States reconnaissance aircraft, and we condemn such acts. 37. The gross encroachment on the sovereignty and revolutionary achievements of the Cuban people, and the unabashed interference in its internal affairs, facts which were presented here in stark terms by the distinguished representative of Cuba, Mr. Guevara [1299th meeting], constitute a threat to peace and security. In our view, the General Assembly must condemn the campaign of provocation and hatred against Cuba, call for respect for the sacred right of peoples to self-determination and to free development and demand the normalization of the situation in the Caribbean area. 38. More than four years have now gone by since the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the historic Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples [resolution 1514 (XV)]. In that time the national liberation movement of peoples has won a number of new and brilliant victories, which are of great international importance. In 1917, colonies, semi-colonies and dependent countries constituted 77 per cent of the territory and 70 per cent of the population of this earth; by the present time however countries with a population of more than 1,500 million people have broken free from the fetters of colonialism. Today, almost the whole of the territory of Asia and more than three- quarters of the territory of Africa are made up of sovereign States. Of the total membership of the United Nations, sixty States are countries of Asia and Africa, This represents a genuine triumph for the freedom-loving peoples. 39. At the present session, the General Assembly has welcomed into its family three more new States that have freed themselves from colonial servitude and embarked on a course of independent development. On behalf of the delegation of the Byelorussian SSR, I greet the heroic peoples of Zambia, Malawi and Malta who can now engage in fruitful co-operation in our Organization. 40. The breakdown of the colonial system, which has occurred under the growing pressure of the people and in the face of resistance by the colonial Powers, who have "resorted to all kinds of manoeuvres to prevent it, has brought about many changes in the present-day world. The countries which have freed themselves have become an important factor in international relations. The Byelorussian SSR, which has consistently been and remains on the side of peoples struggling for national liberation and the strengthening of sovereignty, views with concern the obstacles being artificially placed in the way of the final liquidation of the colonial regimes. We find it deeply disturbing that scores of territories with a total area of some 7 million square kilometres and a population of some 40 million people in Africa, Asia, the American continent and Oceania still remain under the colonial yoke. The peoples of these territories, deprived of their rights and oppressed, are suffocating in the grip of the colonialists of Portugal, the United Kingdom and various other States. The colonialists do not wish to part with what remains of their colonial possessions; they use the dependent territories as a cheap source of raw materials, as markets for their goods, as areas for capital investment and as sites for military and strategic bases. 41. The colonialists of both the old and the new stamp realize that the liberation movement is invincible: in this respect the peoples of the colonies have taught them a good lesson. But colonialism is not dead. It has many faces and is still found everywhere where there continues to be oppression, political coercion, dependence, economic exploitation, inequality and racial discrimination. Colonialism still exists, and the people must preserve and strengthen their unity in the struggle for genuine independence and equality of rights against the many and varied subterfuges of the colonialist forces. 42. The General Assembly must take effective decisions at this session to achieve full implementation, not only in words but also in deeds, of the Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples by the twentieth anniversary of our Organization. The Byelorussian SSR attaches particular significance to effective measures for checking the colonialists, who continue, with the help of their armed forces or through their puppets, to keep many peoples in servitude and dependence, I have in mind particularly the peoples of Angola, Mozambique, Southern Rhodesia, South West Africa, Oman, Aden and other territories. 43. The Byelorussian SSR considers itself in duty bound to support the efforts of those who oppose the revolting policy of apartheid, the very existence of which is a challenge to the principles of the United Nations Charter and a gross violation of the common interests of mankind. Responsibility for apartheid lies not only with Verwoerd's hangmen, but also with those who assist them — the Western countries belonging to the aggressive NATO military bloc. 44. The peoples freeing themselves from colonial dependence still have before them the tasks of breaking many visible and invisible chains of dependence, eliminating the pernicious consequences of colonialism, putting their economies on a sound basis and raising their material and cultural levels of living. This level of living continues at present to be extremely low; hunger, epidemics and illiteracy are still the scourge of many countries. 45. The Byelorussian SSR fully appreciates the problems of accelerating the economic and social progress of the developing countries and of eliminating the burdensome consequences of colonialism and the unjust international division of labour. Our Republic has always expressed its readiness to co-operate in international efforts to solve these problems. An example of this co-operation was the United Nations Inter-Regional Seminar on Social Aspects of Industrialization, which was held in the Byelorussian capital of Minsk in August of this year and was attended by representatives of many States of Africa, Asia and Latin America. We were glad to share our experience with all the participants in the Seminar and to demonstrate to them graphically how social and economic backwardness has been overcome in a very short period of history. We would like to express our satisfaction at the high level of appreciation accorded to the Seminar by its participants and by the representatives of the United Nations Secretariat and of the regional economic commissions. 46. One of the most important factors in a successful national economy is international trade, the normal development of which redounds to the mutual advantage of States, strengthens confidence between them and improves the prospects for the settlement of disputes. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, recently held at Geneva, emphasized the importance of normalizing international trade and adopted a number of important principles defining international trade relations. We welcome the great contribution to international co-operation made by this Conference, which declared itself in favour of creating an international trade organization. What must now be done is to give effective and real substance to these important decisions of the Conference, taking into consideration the reasonable desires of all parties in the interests of peace, co-operation and the well-being of peoples. 47. The United Nations must not forget that there are aggressive forces in the world, and various "fanatics" who are prepared, like scorpions, to commit murder and suicide. It is the duty of the United Nations to isolate the forces of aggression and war, strengthen peaceful coexistence among States, bring about a further relaxation in international tension and strive diligently to achieve solutions of fundamental international problems. 48. Looking back over the road travelled by the United Nations during the nineteen years of its existence and analysing its successes and failures, our delegation believes that the Organization has great possibilities and a great future. But we shall realize these opportunities to the full and earn the gratitude of all mankind only if we ensure the strict and constant fulfilment by all members of the international community of the principles and obligations of the United Nations Charter, which best reflects our common interests. The Charter is the trustworthy compass for navigating our ship, the United Nations. By resolutely following the direction of the compass needle, we shall be able to ensure peace, security and further progress. The Byelorussian SSR, like the entire Soviet Union, "stands firmly for strengthening the United Nations as an organ of international co-operation based on equality of rights to preserve and strengthen peace", as Mr. Kosygin, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, declared on 9 December 1964. 49. The Byelorussian delegation expresses the hope that 1965 will bring mankind new advances in the struggle for peace and the security of peoples. The creation of an atmosphere of indifference to the fate of mankind must not be tolerated; the theory of the inevitability of war and the impossibility of resolving conflicts must be firmly rejected. The people of the world want peace, they demand negotiations for the settlement of disputes, and it is the duty of our Organization to satisfy these just demands. 50. The conclusion of a non-aggression pact between the NATO and Warsaw Treaty countries, the creation of nuclear-free zones in various areas of the world, agreement on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, a general reduction in military budgets, the cessation of the arms race, the practical implementation of general and complete disarmament, the total elimination of the remnants of colonialism and its consequences, and the guaranteeing of peaceful coexistence on a stable basis — these are the basic tasks before the United Nations.