agreement. Some are more and some are less qualified, but they are all conditional. Furthermore, some of these declarations seem to suggest permissible scenarios for the use of nuclear weapons. The resulting picture, it must be admitted, could not be more confusing or disjointed. The epithet "absurd" could perhaps be added if account is taken of the trends that appear to be prevailing in the international climate. This has been said many times in the past and it is not my delegation's intention to revert now to matters that should already be part of history. But what cannot be ignored is the indisputable fact that, since the nuclear-weapon States first issued their unilateral assurances, something very important has changed in the world. My delegation, in saying this, is convinced that, if there is an issue on which the positive effects of the new international atmosphere of co-operation and rationality should be felt in a tangible and uncontraversial manner in the Conference on Disarmament, it ought to be item 6 of our agenda, namely negative security assurances. As is well known, the unilateral declarations were made in the period between 1978 and 1982. There is no need for me to describe why it is obvious that the circumstances and the international environment in which those declarations were uttered are diametrically opposed to the present climate. What resemblance is there between the world of the "new cold war" of the early 1980s and the world of a united Germany, a "pan-European security framework", a world of treaties such as the INF or START agreements or of the virtual operational dismantling of one of the military alliances in Europe or, even more, of the search for a redefinition in political terms of what were until yesterday vast structures prepared for war, to mention only a few examples?
**Analysis**
The text appears to be a speech or statement made by a diplomat or representative of a country, discussing the topic of nuclear weapons and security assurances. The language used is formal and diplomatic, and the text references international agreements, treaties, and climate. The topic is focused on the use of nuclear weapons and the need for reassurances, which suggests a focus on international relations and security rather than a specific economic, environmental, or scientific issue.

**Category**
International relations, Security