UN General Assembly
1948

Mr. Bevin did not leave any doubt as to which Power he had in mind. Actually, he was attempting to transfer the responsibility for the failure of the Atomic Energy Commission from the guilty to the innocent party. Everyone knew the position of the USSR, which insisted upon the immediate prohibition of the atomic weapons and the establishment of strict effective international control in order that that prohibition might be enforced and atomic energy used only for peaceful purposes. The necessity for such prohibition of the atomic weapon derived from the very nature of the weapon, which was one of aggression, designed for attack, for the destruction of towns and the mass extermination of peaceful populations. Mr. Bevin, when he announced that the Soviet Union was opposing any agreement on the establishment of international control in connexion with the prohibition of the production of atomic weapons, was trying to distract the attention of public opinion from the responsible parties.