UN General Assembly
1991

The events of that day gave the lie to all those in the West who did not believe that the peoples of the Soviet Union had the will for freedom and democracy. Boris Yeltsin, Eduard Shevardnadze, Anatoly Sobchak, Gavril Popov and Alexander Yakovlev stood unshakably with many, many of their fellow-citizens for freedom and peace. What Europe and the world was twice denied in this century our generation has the chance to fulfil: President Bush's vision of a new world order. It is the vision of a world community sharing responsibility on the basis of law, the self-determination of nations, international solidarity and respect for man and nature.