UN General Assembly
1980

27. In the face of the numerous challenges confronting mankind, it would be superfluous to say how much my Government deeply regrets the current tragic conflict between the non-aligned States of Iran and Iraq. I fervently add my voice to the many appeals for restraint and peace between those two neighbouring countries. 28. Recent events give us no cause for joy. The tensions and crises which developed last year remain virtually unresolved. The armaments race has assumed a new and dangerous momentum, at a time when the second Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non- Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons has failed. The North- South dialogue on the economic problems of the world is stalemated, as a consequence of a most regrettable inability to agree even on procedures to begin negotiations. The present stalemate in the climate of negotiations between the developing and the developed countries holds terrifying prospects for all. Perhaps, more than is realized, the world is poised delicately on the brink—that critical margin— between survival and disaster.