on bipolar ideological and military antagonism between East and West, but as a result of the détente we are experiencing today we can say that 1989, the year of the bicentenary of the French Revolution, will have constituted an echo in the political field and in disarmament. For the first time in history we have seen nuclear-weapon States agreeing to eliminate, on a bilateral basis, a whole category of weapons. I refer to the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, whose distinguished representatives have just given us a briefing on the state of their bilateral negotiations concerning strategic weapons in the run-up to the forthcoming summit, for which we extend our wishes for success. Following the same line of thought, the reductions in conventional forces and confidence-building measures that are the subject of intensive negotiations in Europe and in Vienna in the context of CSCE, as well as the quest for peaceful solutions to regional conflicts, show clearly that beyond the balance of forces, the concept of security implies the commencement of an era of international co-operation. Hence the Conference on Disarmament must adapt to this new state of affairs, to the favourable international situation, in order to achieve concrete results in its area of competence so as to strengthen its credibility. In this connection we must welcome the considerable efforts that have been made by the Conference on Disarmament since last year to draw up a convention totally banning chemical weapons. The impetus which was thus given by the Paris Conference at the beginning of last year made the elimination of existing stockpiles and chemical weapon production facilities, as well as the total prohibition of the production, acquisition, stockpiling, transfer or use of these weapons, a common and irrevocable cause for the entire international 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing international relations, disarmament, and security, which suggests that it is related to the field of international politics and diplomacy. The language used is formal and diplomatic, indicating that the text is likely from a governmental or international organization's statement or report.

**Category**
International relations, Science and technology