UN General Assembly
1988

We can look to the future with confidence. The community of nations is showing greater respect for the rule of law. There is a growing willingness to resolve even the most serious differences by negotiation. This indicates a fundamental change in international relations. The core of these changes is in the attempts by West and East to place their relations on a new foundation. One of the reasons why the world Organization has been able to achieve progress in the peaceful settlement of conflicts is that West and East have increasingly been co-operating to this end. It has become obvious that West-East confrontation must not be carried over into the third world but must, where it arises, be defused step by step and, as far as possible, be resolved through dialogue and co-operation.