TOP THE first person on a Moscow
street gr in a remote village and
ask him where the world crises is

most dangerous. The reply you will
hear most often is: Vietnam and the
Middle East.

Interconnection of all regions of the
world is one of the basic changes
brought by the 20th century. In the
past, a war in Europe or Asia did not
spread to another continent. In pre-
sentday Conditions, any armed conflict
may grow into a world conflagration.
It can hardly be said therefore how
events would develop if Israel were
not stopped in June in its advance to
Cairo and Damascus. It can also be
hardly said’ how far the United States
will go in the Vietnam escalation. We
know that voices are heard in Wash-

ington in favor of using nuclear weap-
ons and extending hostilities to North
Vietnam. It is impossible to measure
the tragic aftermath of such actions.

American war theoreticians are
known to allege that local wars are
possible and not dangerous. This is as
risky a game as that played in the past
by tsarist army officers called “Russian
roulette.” In exactly the same way any
local war may develop into a world-
wide clash.

Soviet position in world crises

In every crisis there is the culprit
and the victim. Soviet people are solid-
ly behind the Vietnamese people who
were attacked in their own house. The
USSR renders the friendly state, the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam, eco-
nomic and military aid to the extent

Soviet aid to DVR in its defense against U.S. attack.

at daha

Q) Maior U.S. military bases overseas
phere U.S. military advisory units
ae equivalenis are stationed

Brazil

\ Bolivia

corresponding to the requests of the
latter. If necessary, assistance will be
expanded. However, the chief aim of

the Soviet Union is to end the Viet- .

nam war, drive out the aggressors and
guarantee the Vietnamese people the
right to decide their destiny them-
selves. The USSR is a co-chairman of
the Geneva Conference on Vietnam,
and it is believed in Moscow that the’
agreements of 1954 remain the only
legal basis for the solution of the Viet-
nam issue.

Early in September, South Vietnam
National Liberation Front published a
political program aimed at establishing
an independent, peaceful, democratic
and neutral Vietnam which would gra-
dually solve the problem of reunifica-
tion of the country by negotiation.
There is every grounds to regard this
document as a key to a peaceful settle-
ment in South Vietnam. It is obviously
clear as well that any negotiations with
the participation of the National Libe-
ration Front and the North Vietnam
government are possible only if the
United States unreservedly stops air-
raids and other military operations
against North Vietnam.

In the Middle East crisis, the Soviet
people sympathize with the Arabs who
also became a victim of aggression.
Soviet diplomacy did its best to stop
the conflict. At present it spares no
effort to compel Israel to give up the
seized territory. This is a traditional
position of the USSR. The Decree on
Peace; the first decree of Soviet gov-
ernment after the victory of the Octo-
ber Revolution, said that the seizure of
foreign land by armed forces is imper-
missible. :

The Soviet Union is not against the
existence of Israel. It comes out against
the militarist policy of that state which
twice unleashed war in that region of
the world.

Does the Soviet Union consider a
new world war inevitable? No, it does
not. The military potential of the
USSR is so great now that any agegres-

sor has to envisage the possibility and-
probabability of his own destruction.

No country or group of countries can
count now on any benefit from a world
war. World public opinion is certainly

~Cgraruy Bi.

United States’ military ring around the socialist world and U.S.
where national liberation movements are in progress:

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November 4, 1967 _paciric TR Zz

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against any actions which a
provoke a large-scale mye
people optimistically 00
plan the peaceful growt
for a long period of time:
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ers of all nations must ©" ve™
put an end to. any ager to
which aggravate the wor!
to a critical point. : wat
A full guarantee against ll
disarmament only. Disa"! {0 ;
ideal of socialism, accord il
teaching. This is why ¢ * sngle
consistently and painstalt i
the need of adopting Pr
the restriction of arm@™ jag
disarmament. Mankin@ .. gp
some achievements in thi yc
Moscow treaty bannin& ol
in three media; an agree’ of
clear-free space an
a démilitarized Antare
be long before the sig?”
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banning underground ¥ i.
these international dol ig
measures for disarm@ Howe”
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ensure approaches f0F
process of disarmameé
the creation of an atm a
Soviet people fully ar
eign policy of their 80%
do so because this poli
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aimed at safeguardin’ val
precious wish of man “elf
people support the on emt
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war kindled from outs”
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world war which cost sé
human and material Jo
certainly have achieV
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the Soviet state.

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