eeien to prospects of the imple-
* ation of the CPSU social policy.
~-achyov stressed that concern for
ad always been in the centre of
On of the party. In the coming
eee is planned to double the
__ Unt Of resources channelled into the
efovement of the living conditions of
‘; fe ee. It has been decided to pro-
viet Beatate flat or house for each
amily by the year 2000.
ther eet upon the problem of the fur-
" Sewlidation of the Soviet family,
oa set forth plans for the
a Pt of privileges and advantages
_ orking women, for families with
ny children, and pointed out that the
Was to fully meet the demand in
~~ Shool childcare.
fac €scale and complexity of the tasks
ig the country call for consistent and
Bring furtherance of the people’s
alist Self-government, Gorbachyov
dla ther. In socialist society, partic-
Y under the present circumstances,

attenti

: Accelerating the Soviet
-~Hl0n’s social and economic
development is the key to all
ts problems: immediate and
_ Sng-term, economic and
0cial, political and
Ological, international and
Xternal

¢ -2Ment should not be the privilege
c Narrow circle of professionals.
ae is the guiding force and the
ee antor of the development of
An ISt self-government.
, ONnection with the question of the
€r democratization of Soviet soci-
a Gorbachyov stressed the growing
bbe the Soviets of People’s Deputies,
Vee |, O'anizations and work collec-
: He emphasized the importance of
esgening publicity, and spoke about
“10-political and individual rights
freedoms of the citizens of the
j«? POinting out that in socialist
, Y the rights of citizens do not, and
Ot, exist outside their duties, just as
binge amnot be duties without corres-
‘ng rights.
; waking of the basic aims and direc-
m; Of the Soviet Union’s foreign
tee Strategy, Gorbachyov stressed
Teng the struggle against the nuclear
€, against the arms race, for the
..'Vation and strengthening of uni-
in 2 Peace remains the fundamental
Iter 'On of the party’s activities on the
tT National scene’’.
iow © SOViet leader expressed the con-
°n that in the present situation there
ite, alternative to cooperation and
‘i "action between all countries. Objec-
high, nditions have taken shape in
aq SOnfrontation between capitalism
Ng, CClalism can proceed only and
Deyively in forms of peaceful com-
be On:

I gc tking about the practical aspects
;, vlet policy, Mikhail Gorbachyov
Nero, at the Soviet Union has made
) pectic efforts to give a fresh impetus
lm Negotiations in Geneva, Stock-
4nd Vienna, the purpose of which
Scale down the arms race and build
fidence between states.

The delegates
represented all ages,
all sectors and all
walks of life of Soviet
society, reflecting the
current make-up of
the Communist Party.

|»

Gorbachyov also recalled the large-
scale Soviet initiative of January 15,
aimed at completely eliminating nuclear
and other kinds of weapons of mass
destruction by the end of this century.
‘‘What I am talking about is a plan of
concrete actions strictly measured out in
terms of time. The USSR intends to
work perseveringly for its realisation,
regarding it as the central direction of
our foreign policy for the coming
years’’, he said.

“Soviet military doctrine is also
entirely in keeping with the letter and
spirit of the initiatives we have put
forward’’, Gorbachyov went on to say.
“Its orientation is unequivocally defen-
sive. In the military sphere we intend to
act in such a way as to give nobody
grounds for fears, even imagined, about
their security. But to an equal extent we
and our allies want to be rid of the
feeling that we are threatened’’. ‘‘The
Soviet Union lays no claim to more
security, but it will not settle for less.”’

In this connection the general secre-
tary of the CPSU Central Committee
touched upon the US ‘‘Star Wars’’ pro-
gramme. ‘‘Before it is too late, it is
imperative to find a realistic solution
guaranteeing that the arms race does not
spread to outer space’’, he stressed.

Touching upon the coming meeting
with the US President in accordance
with the understanding reached in
Geneva, the Soviet leader. pointed out
that the significance of it is that it ought
to produce practical results in key areas
of limiting and reducing armaments.
There are at least two matters on which
understanding could be reached: the ces-
sation of nuclear tests, and the abolition
of US and Soviet medium-range missiles
in the European zone. ‘‘And then, as a
matter of fact, if there is readiness to
seek agreement, the question of the time
of the meeting would be resolved of
itself: we will accept any suggestion on
this count. But there is no sense in hold-
ing empty talks. We shall not remain
indifferent if the Soviet-US dialogue
that has started and inspired some not
unfounded hopes of a possibility for
changes for the better is used to continue
the arms race and the material prepara-
tions for war.”’

The speaker touched upon the situa-
tion around Afghanistan, and stressed
that the USSR supported that country’s
efforts to defend its sovereignty. ‘‘We
would like, in the nearest future, to
withdraw the Soviet troops stationed in
Afghanistan at the request of its govern-
ment’’, Gorbachyov said. He added that
it will become possible as soon as a
political settlement is reached that en-
sures the actual cessation and depend-
ably guarantees the non-resumption of
foreign armed interference in the inter-
national affairs of the Democratic
Republic of Afghanistan.

Speaking about the flashpoints of
military danger that are not dying down,
Gorbachyov stressed that ‘‘crises and
conflicts are fertile soil also for inter-
national terrorism .
rejects terrorism in principle and is pre-
pared to cooperate actively with other
states in order to uproot it’’.

The speaker pointed out that the des-
tinies of peace and social progress were
now linked more closely than ever
before with the dynamic character of the

The»:USSR™

socialist world system’s economic and
political development. He spoke in
detail about the deepening and expan-
sion of cooperation between the socialist
countries.

The report stresses that the CPSU is
a component of the international com-
munist movement and points out that
the Soviet public is prepared to go on
promoting links with non-communist
movements and organisations, including
religious organisations militating against
war.

This is also the angle from which the
CPSU regards its relations with the
social democratic movement. ‘‘It is a
fact that the ideological differences
between the communists and the social
democrats are deep, and that their
achievements and experience are dis-
similar and non-equivalent. However,
an unbiased look at the standpoints and
views of each other is unquestionably
useful to both communists and social
democrats, useful in the first place for
furthering the struggle for peace and
international security.”

In his report Mikhail Gorbachyov put
forward the idea of building an all-
embracing system of international
security.

We see the fundamental principles of
this system in the following:

In the military sphere:

— Renunciation by the nuclear
powers of war — both nuclear and con-
ventional — against each other or
against third countries;

—Prevention of an arms race in outer
space, cessation of all nuclear weapons
tests and the total destruction of such
weapons, a ban on and the destruction
of chemical weapons, and renunciation
of the development of other means of
mass annihilation;

— A sstrictly controlled lowering
of the levels of military capabilities
of countries to limits of reasonable
adequacy;

— Disbandment of military alliances,
and as a stage towards this — renuncia-
tion of their enlargement and of the
formation of new ones:

— Balanced and commensurate
reduction of military budgets.

— Unconditional respect in interna-
tional practice for the right of each peo-
ple to choose the ways and forms of its
development independently;

— A just political settlement of inter-
national crises and regional conflicts;

— Elaboration of a set of measures
aimed at building confidence between
states and the creation of effective
guarantees against attack from without
and of the inviolability of frontiers;

— Elaboration of effective methods
of preventing international terrorism,
including the safety of international
land, air and sea communications.

In the economic sphere:

— Exclusion of all forms of discrimi-
nation from international practice;
renunciation of the policy of economic
blockades and sanctions if this is not:
directly envisaged in the recommenda-
tions of the world community;

— Joint quest for ways towards a just
settlement of the problem of debts;

— Establishment of a new world
economic order guaranteeing equal

These Congress
delegates are truly
outstanding
Communists; each
has been twice
awarded Hero of
Socialist Labour; the
highest distinction a
Soviet citizen can
earn.

economic security to all countries;

— Elaboration of principles for utilis-
ing part of the funds released as a result
of the reduction of military budgets for
the good of the world community, of the
developing nations in the first place;

— The pooling of efforts in explor-
ing and making peaceful use of outer
space and in resolving global problems
on which the destinies of civilisation
depend.

In the humanitarian sphere:

— Cooperation in the dissemination
of the ideas of peace, disarmament, and
international security; greater flow of
general objective information and inter-
course between peoples for the purpose
of learning about one another; rein-
forcement of the spirit of mutual under-
standing and concord in the relations
between them; an end to genocide,
apartheid, advocacy of fascism and
every other form of racial, national or
religious exclusiveness, and also to dis-
crimination against people on this basis;
extension — while respecting the laws of
each country — of international cooper-
ation in the implementation of the poli-
tical, social, and individual rights of

The struggle against nuclear
war, against the arms race, for
world peace remains the
fundamental direction of the

party’s foreign policy

people; decision in a humane and posi-
tive spirit of questions related to the
reuniting of families, marriage, and the
promotion of contacts between people
and between organisations; strengthen-
ing of and quests for new forms of
cooperation in culture, the arts, science,
education and medicine.

These principles, Gorbachyov said,
could help make peaceful coexistence
the highest principle of state-to-state
relations, as well as the point of depar-
ture for a systematic dialogue between _

leaders of countries of the world |

community.

Mikhail Gorbachyov proposed a
meeting between the leaders of the coun-
tries which are permanent members of
the Security Council to discuss what |
could and should be done to strengthen
peace. He also proposed the convoca-
tion of a world congress on problems of
economic security at which it would be
possible to discuss in a package every-
thing that encumbers world economic
relations. : i :

The section of the report devoted to
the Communist Party, which has a —
membership of 19 million people, dealt
with the results of the discussion of the
new edition of the party programme and ©
of the amendments to the party rules.

‘‘First of all, the conclusions and pro- —
visions of the CPSU programme rules

have met with widespread approval. The | .

communists and Soviet people support
the party’s policy of accelerating the
country’s socio-economic development
and its programme’s clear orientation
towards the communist perspective and
the strengthening of world peace’’,
Gorbachyov concluded.