UN General Assembly
1977

279. While the world community firmly supports recognition of the national rights of the Palestinian people, it is certainly revealing that the United States of America has finally understood that it cannot install itself in an exclusive position in the Middle East, and that other Powers, if only because of their very nature, also have obvious responsibilities to bear in the maintenance of peace and international security. We are far from sanctioning any idea of trusteeship exercised by any Power, but if the efforts of the United States of America can be influential in the process of restoring peace to the Middle East, then it is quite clear that, if they are joined with those of the Soviet Union, in the spirit of the recent joint statement, they could become decisive. At all events, the Arab peoples, having learned to test their friendships, are now more than ever convinced that their salvation, their freedom and their dignity are essentially based upon the policy of self- reliance. Once these temporary problems are overcome, I am convinced that the Arab world, with its formidable potential and privileged position at the cross-roads of continents and civilizations, with its historic vocation, will once again resume its historic role in bringing peoples together and fostering co-operation among them.