meet the challenges, and create the opportunities, of
the future.
East/West relations
3.
Nowhere, Mr Speaker, are such qualities more in
demand than in the field of relations between East and
West. Only a Panglossian optimist could offer a wholly
positive account of East/West exchanges over the past
year. In public and in private, we in the West have
indicated that we are ready and willing to work for
better relations with the Soviet Union, and to
negotiate reductions of nuclear arms. But the response
has been at worst dismissive, at best far from
encouraging.
immobile.
In short, the Russians have remained
4.
But we shall not let this discourage us. I have
made clear on many occasions over the past year that we
should not expect rapid progress, that establishing a
better, more confident, relationship will take years,
not months or weeks. The Government remains committed
to improving relations between East and West. To
challenging the Russians to join us in strengthening
peace. That is why we have done so much to increase
the level and frequency of our contacts with the Soviet
Union and with Eastern Europe. And why we stand
convinced of the need for wider and deeper contact
between our citizens.
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