UN General Assembly
1969

and that the process of military de-escalation will gradually lead to a complete cessation of hostilities and to the restoration of peace. 164. The conflict in Viet-Nam thus shows at least some elements which entitle us to have some hope. But at this time we can, unfortunately, see no encouraging development in the Middle East. On the contrary, it appears that over the past year the positions of both sides have only become more inflexible. 165. In my speech to the General Assembly last year [1692nd meeting] I expressed the concern of the Australian Government that belligerency had not come to an end and that tension along precarious cease-fire lines persisted. We must note today that, as our Secretary-General remarked only recently in the introduction to his annual report [A/7601/Add.1], a virtual state of active war now exists along much of these cease-fire lines. We had hoped that the Security Council resolution of 22 November 1967 [242 (1967)] would bring about within a reasonable period a generally acceptable and lasting solution to the