UN General Assembly
1989

"I am all too conscious how thorny is often the path leading to a just and lasting settlement aid how hard is the resistance encountered." (A/44/1, p. 12) I fully agree with him. If there is a lesson to be learned in all this, it is that there is no quick fix to peace. When a major Power comes to the conclusion that military power cannot be used to achieve political objectives and that dialogue with a global rival is more fruitful than confrontation, it ushers in a more auspicious international climate. But we have clearly learned this year that even when the major Powers are prepared to settle their conflicts a necessary but insufficient condition for the attainment of peace has been met. The key that unlocks the door to peace in regional conflicts is often in the hands of the parties directly involved. All that is needed is one inflexible and intransigent party to block the peace process.