UN General Assembly
2004

Mr. President, first of all I would like to congratulate you on your assumption of the important post of President of the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session. Let me also 21 pay tribute to His Excellency Mr. Julian Hunte for his highly professional and fruitful work accomplished at the helm of the General Assembly. A year ago the Secretary-General stressed in this Hall that the United Nations had reached a fork in the road. This is still true today. We have a long list of problems, but we do not have a clear vision of how to deal with them. To choose the right way, to solve a conflict between wishes and resources, between desirable and achievable, we should concentrate on priorities. Let me outline Ukraine’s vision of the most important issues on which the United Nations should focus. The tragedy in the Russian city of Beslan and other recent terrorist attacks leave no doubt that fight against terrorism is truly the major priority. We express our sympathy to the victims and strongly condemn