UN General Assembly
1988

The Secretary-General's report was couched in guarded optimism. That is understandable and realistic in the present-day world. I wish to express to Mr. Perez de Cuellar my gratitude for and recognition of the successes that the world Organization has achieved in the past year. The fact is that the forty-third session is beginning its work in auspicious circumstances. The process of negotiations between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America continues. It has a positive impact on almost all aspects of international relations. Improvement in their relations could bring about progress in the quest for solutions to almost all the crises in the world, since there is evident interdependence between the accommodation of the super-Powers and overall developments in international relations. For the first time it may appear that the dangerous spiral of the arms race has ceased.