the forthcoming summit. We see it as a statement of intent on what we are to do after the signature of the START treaty. We have a mutual understanding with the American side that it is at the forthcoming summit that we must determine the main lines and areas of work on reducing arms and armed forces and overcoming the military confrontation between the two countries. Throughout nearly all this period, the Soviet-American talks on nuclear and space arms have continued here in Geneva working on the practical details of the START treaty and its accompanying documents. At the end of September last year, soon after the Wyoming ministerial meeting, round 12 began, which ended on 8 December. Round 13 began on 22 January this year and is still going on. In view of the huge amount of work before us, we have taken steps to make the negotiations as intensive and extensive as possible. Specifically, the negotiating process in Geneva did not stop either for the Moscow or for the Washington ministerial meetings, despite the fact that the heads of both delegations participated in them. CD/PV.553 14 (Mr. Nazarkin. USSR) I now turn to the status of the NST talks. The problem of ABMs and space occupies an important place at the talks. Our position is based on the existence of an objective interrelationship between strategic offensive and defensive arms. The point is that the establishment of large-scale ABM defensive systems, particularly space-based systems, can inevitably entail a qualitative and a quantitative build-up in strategic offensive arms. The existence of such an objective interlinkage was recognized by the USSR and the United States during their negotiations on the ABM Treaty in 1972. The idea was also taken into account when the mandate of the current nuclear and space talks was being worked out. The Soviet Union favours the preservation of 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing international relations, specifically the negotiations between the Soviet Union and the United States on reducing arms and armed forces, as well as the implications of such agreements on the military confrontation between the two countries. The text also mentions the START treaty and the ABM Treaty, which suggests a focus on international security and diplomacy.

**Category**
International relations, Science and technology