UN General Assembly
1982

of Helsinki, the necessary conditions for the proceedings to be resumed and to move towards a positive conclusion. 136. Unfortunately, the persistence and aggravation of focal points of tension in many parts of the world inevitably cause serious apprehension among the entire international community. The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark, in his capacity as current President of the European Community, expressed here, at the 8th meeting, the anxiety which we all feel over the world situation and identified and commented in depth and with lucidity on those international problems which, because of their gravity, must be brought to the attention of the Assembly. 137. I am thinking first of all of the Middle East, an area of traditional and direct responsibility for my country, situated as it is in the centre of the Mediterranean region. A moral and political judgement on the recent tragic events in Lebanon is not enough. There must be concrete action if this vicious circle is to be broken. Aware of this fact, Italy made direct efforts with a view to the adoption