theadoption ofacomplex oflarge-scale, effective political, military and technical confidence-building measures. AtStockholm wearenowprepared to proceed immediately, together withournegotiating partners, totheactualdrafting ofagreements tothateffect. ourcountry attaches majorimportance tothe pan-European process asawhole. TheSOvietUnionisbuilding anddeveloping itsrelations withallStatesin strictcompliance withtheFinalActandonthebasisofthe10principles proclaimed therein. Itattaches special importance tothefactorofconfidence in thoserelations, anditispleased whenitseesthatthisfactorispresent inits relationswithvariouscountriesinEurope,Ameriea,Asia,AfricaorOceania• Inourrelations withotherStates wehavealwaysgivenpriority tothesearch forwaysofeasinginternational tension andaverting thedangerofwar.Ofgreat importance inthiscontext istheforthcoming visitofHikhail Gorbachev toFrance. Wealsowanttobuildnormal, stablerelations withtheUnitedStates. We haveneverbeentheinitiators ofconfrontation between theSovietunionandthe unitedStates. Wedonotbelieve thatthetensions todayinSoviet-American relations resultfromaninevitable clashofnational interests. Wetherefore believe thatbothsideshaveaninteJ:~t int..l1esuccessful outcome ofthe forthcoming meeting between theleaders oftheSoviet UnionandtheunitedStates. Thisisprecisely howtheSOvietUnionapproaches thatmeeting. Itremains tobe seenwhatwillbetheattitude oftheothersideinthismatter. Weareconvinced thattheSOviet-American summitmeeting shouldfocusonthe mostimportant problem oftheday,theproblem uponwhosesolution trulydepends on thepossibility ofdecisively reducing thedangerofwar,restoringinternationalAMH/17 A/4O/PV.6 62 (Mr.Shevardnadze, USSR) trustandcreating theconditions necessary forresolving manyotherpressing issuesinrelations amongstates. Theproblem Iamreferring toisthatof pLeventinq anarmsraceinO'..!terspacea'!dend:Ll'l.9theal'msraceonearth,limiting andreducing nuclear armsandenhancing strategic stability. Iwilladdress this question insomewhat greaterdetail. Tobeginwith,itwouldappearindisputable thataslongasStatespossess nuclear weapons theriskoftheoutbrea:<' ofnuclear warcannotbecompletely ruled out.Itisequally true,however, thatinconditions ofstrategic eqUilibrium, thatriskiscomparatively lower,forstrategic equilibrium meansessentially that eachside,evenifitbecameavictimI)fnuclear aggression committed bytheother side,wouldretainSUfficient strategic capacity tostrikeanequally devastating blowtotheaggressor. Consequently, inconditions ofstrategic equilibrium there couldbenowinnerinanuclear warandstarting onewouldbetantamount to committing suicide. Yetthesituation mightchangeifonesideshouldtrytoacquire sucha nuclear potential aswouldencourage ittothinkthatbyasinglestrikeitcould deprivetheothersideofadequate retaliatory capacity against aggression, particularly ifthepotential aggressor shoulddevelop aspace-based anti-missile shieldandcountonittoprotectitselfagainst aretaliatory strike. Itis obvious thatinsuchcasetheaggressor mightbetempted todeliver orthreaten to deliver "disarming- nuclearstrike-asitisnowknown-counting onits immunity toretaliation. Hencetheextreme dangerinherent inanybidformilitary superiority inanuclear age.Yetthisisprecisely thepurpose ofthenewUnited Statesmilitary programmes, workonwhichhasalready begunorisabouttobegin. Itcouldbearguedthatthisisapurelyhypothetical dangersincetheSOviet unionhasrepeatedly statedthatitwouldnotallowtheothersidetoachieve superiority andwouldtakeappropriate counter-measures torestore thebalance.AMB/l7 A/4O/PV.6 63-65 CMr.Shevardnadze, USSR) Butwouldthatmeanthattheproblemofthedangerofnuclear warwouldsimply disappear? It.istruethatourcountry wouldnotpermitmilitary superiority overit.The StateandPartyleadership ofth~SovietUnionhasinstructed metoreaffirm this onceagaininthisUnitedNations forum. ThosewhomayexpectthattheSoviet economy wouldnotbeabletostanduptothestrainofthequalitatively newstage i~thearmsracewhichiscurrently beingforceduponusareprofoundly mistaken. ourcountry andtheSovieteconomy havehadtowithstand evengreater pressures. Today,theeconomic mightoftheSovietStateanditsscientific andtechnological potential aresuchastoleavenodoubtwhatever inanyone's mindconcerning the ability anddetermination ofourpeopletomeetthatnewchallenge. However,itshouldnotbeforgotten thatthehigherthelevelofmilitary confrontation inthisnuclear andspaceage,themoreshakyandthelesssecure, evenifstrategic equilibrium ismaintained, becomethefoundatibns ofworld peace. Nuclear warintheseconditions couldresultnotonlyfromadeliberate decision butalsofromattempts atblackmail orfrommiscalculation byonesideas totheintentions oractionsoftheother.Itcouldalsobreakoutasa consequence ofsomeone's reckless behaviour prompted byasuddenaggravation ofthe situation orbecause ofmalfunctions ofcomputers, whicharebeingincreasingly
**Analysis**
The text appears to be a diplomatic speech by Eduard Shevardnadze, the Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs, discussing the importance of reducing the danger of war and promoting international cooperation. He specifically highlights the need to prevent an arms race in space and to limit and reduce nuclear arms. The speech also touches on the Soviet Union's economic capabilities and its determination to meet the challenges of the arms race. Based on this content, it seems that the category would be related to international relations, security, and arms control.

**Category**
International relations, Security