Republics taken in the summer of 1979 and based on an earlier agreement reached by the then Heads of States of the two countries, President Carter and President Brezhnev. On 9 July 1979, the heads of the delegations of the two countries, the late Adrian Fisher and our colleague Ambassador Issraelyan, tabled in the Committee separate but identical texts containing "major elements of a Treaty prohibiting the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Radiolgoical Weapons ". As the title of this agreed joint United States-USSR proposal suggested, it dealt exclusively with what some years later came to be known as "radiological weapons in the traditional sense". The Netherlands had always been somewhat sceptical about the feasibility of the option of methods of warfare involving the use of such weapons. Nine years before the joint United States-Soviet Union initiative, the Netherlands, on grounds which I will not repeat today, in a CD/PV.521 15 (Mr. Van Schalk, Netherlands ) document presented to the then Conference of the Committee on Disarmament (Document CCD/29D had reached the conclusion that it was "difficult to see the practical usefulness of discussing arms-control measures related to radiological warfare". Since the 1950s and 1960s the situation seems to have changed on a number of accounts. Radiological warfare nowadays is a — albeit still remote — possibility. The sharp increase in numbers of nuclear facilities of various types in the world has led to an even greater increase of concentrations — of stocks if you wish, — of radiological material. In a number of cases, moreover, these facilities — such as power-reactors — pose a particular problem in themselves in as far as they provide for a — from a military point of view — "interesting" target. An attack on such facilities would, if radio-active material were released, result in mass-destruction.
**Analysis**
The text appears to discuss a specific aspect of international relations, specifically disarmament and arms control, with a focus on radiological weapons. The language used is formal and diplomatic, suggesting a discussion within a government or international organization. The text also references international agreements, conferences, and documents, which further supports this analysis.

**Category**
Science and technology, International relations