UN General Assembly
1987

In any event we should be churlish were we not to hail, as is appropriate, the announcement made on 18 September last by the Soviet Union and the United States relating to their acceptance of the principle and the broad lines of a treaty on the elimination of medium- and short-range nuclear missiles. From 1972, the date of the first strategic arms limitation talks, to 1987, has been a long and difficult road. Imagination, a sense of compromise and a desire for dialogue were needed to reach this result, and we shall not attempt analysis, for in truth what matters is the spirit that allowed the adoption of this very promising decision. We support the joint declaration of the six nations which, on 22 May 1987, in anticipation of the event, stated, inter alia, that it had been proved that when the political will existed it was possible to arrive at major agreements on nuclear disarmament measures.