Meeting
of the North
Atlantic
Council

Bonn
10 June 1982

We, the representatives of the 16 members of the North Atlantic Alliance, reaffirm our dedication to the shared values and ideals on which our transatlantic partnership is based.

2. The accession of Spain to the North Atlantic Treaty, after its peaceful change to parliamentary democracy, bears witness to the vitality of the Alliance as a force for peace and freedom.

3. Our Alliance has preserved peace for a third of a century. It is an association of free nations joined together to preserve their security through mutual guarantees and collective self defence as recognised by the United Nations Charter. It remains the essential instrument for deterring aggression by means of a strong defence and strengthening peace by means of constructive dialogue. Our solidarity in no way conflicts with the right of each of our countries to choose its own policies and internal development, and allows for a high degree of diversity. Therein lies our strength. In a spirit of mutual respect, we are prepared to adjust our aims and interests at all times through free and close consultations; these are the core of everyday Allied co-operation and will be intensified appropriately. We are a partnership of equals, none dominant and none dominated.

4. The Soviet Union, for its part, requires the countries associated with it to act as a bloc, in order to preserve a rigid and imposed system. Moreover, experience shows that the Soviet Union is ultimately willing to threaten or use force beyond its own frontiers. Afghanistan and the Soviet attitude with regard to the Polish crisis show this clearly. The Soviet Union has devoted over the past decade a large part of its resources to a massive military build-up, far exceeding its defence needs and supporting the projection of military power on a global scale. While creating a threat of these dimensions, Warsaw Pact governments condemn Western defence efforts as aggressive. While they ban unilateral disarmament movements in their own countries they support demands for unilateral disarmament in the West.

5. International stability and world peace require greater restraint and responsibility on the part of the Soviet Union. We for our part, reaffirming the principles and purposes of the Alliance, set forth our Programme for Peace in Freedom:
   1. Our purpose is to prevent war and, while safeguarding democracy, to build the foundations of lasting peace. None of our weapons will ever be used except in response to attack. We respect the sovereignty, equality, independence and territorial integrity of all states. In fulfilment of our purpose, we shall maintain adequate military strength and political solidarity. On that basis, we will persevere in efforts to establish, whenever Soviet behaviour makes this possible, a more constructive East-West relationship through dialogue, negotiation and mutually advantageous co-operation.

   2. Our purpose is to preserve the security of the North Atlantic area by means of conventional and nuclear forces adequate to deter aggression and intimidation. This requires a sustained effort on the part of all the Allies to improve their defence readiness and military capabilities, without seeking military superiority. Our countries have the necessary resources to undertake this effort. The presence of North American armed forces in Europe and the United States strategic nuclear commitment to Europe remain integral to Allied security. Of equal importance are the maintenance and continued improvement of the defence capabilities of the European members of the Alliance. We will seek to achieve greater effectiveness in the application of national resources to defence, giving due attention to possibilities for developing areas of practical co-operation. In this respect the Allies concerned will urgently explore ways to take full advantage both technically and economically of emerging technologies. At the same time steps will be taken in the appropriate fora to restrict Warsaw Pact access to Western militarily relevant technology.

   3. Our purpose is to have a stable balance of forces at the lowest possible level, thereby strengthening peace and international security. We have initiated a comprehensive series of proposals for militarily significant, equitable and verifiable agreements on the control and reduction of armaments. We fully support the efforts of the United States to negotiate with the Soviet Union for substantial reductions in the strategic nuclear weapons of the two countries, and for the establishment of strict and effective limitations on their intermediate-range nuclear weapons, starting with the total elimination of their land-based intermediate-range missiles, which are of most concern to each side. We will continue to seek substantial reductions of conventional forces on both sides in Europe, and to reach agreement on measures which will serve to build confidence and enhance security in the whole of Europe. To this end, those of us whose countries participate in the negotiations on Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions in Vienna have agreed on a new initiative to give fresh impetus to these negotiations. We will also play an active part in wider international talks on arms control and disarmament; at the Second United Nations Special Session on Disarmament which has just opened in New York, we will work to give new momentum to these talks.

   4. Our purpose is to develop substantial and balanced East-West relations aimed at genuine détente. For this to be achieved, the sovereignty of all states, wherever situated, must be respected, human rights must not be sacrificed to state interests, the free movement of ideas must take the place of one-sided propaganda, the free movement of persons must be made possible, efforts must be made to achieve a military relationship characterised by stability and openness, and in general all principles and provisions of the Helsinki Final Act in their entirety must be applied. We, for our part, will always be ready to negotiate in this spirit and we look for tangible evidence that this attitude is reciprocated.

   5. Our purpose is to contribute to peaceful progress world-wide; we will work to remove the causes of instability such as under-development or tensions which encourage outside interference. We will continue to play our part in the struggle against hunger and poverty. Respect for genuine non-alignment is important for international stability. All of us have an interest in peace and security in other regions of the world. We will consult together as appropriate on events in these regions which may have implications for our security, taking into account our commonly identified objectives. Those of us who are in a position to do so will endeavour to respond to requests for assistance from sovereign states whose security and independence is threatened.

   6. Our purpose is to ensure economic and social stability for our countries, which will strengthen our joint capacity to safeguard our security. Sensitive to the effects of each country's policies on others, we attach the greatest importance to the curbing of inflation and a return to sustained growth and to high levels of employment.

   While noting the important part which our economic relations with the Warsaw Pact countries can play in the development of a stable East-West relationship, we will approach those relations in a prudent and diversified manner consistent with our political and security interests. Economic relations should be conducted on the basis of a balanced advantage for both sides. We undertake to manage financial relations with the Warsaw Pact countries on a sound economic basis, including commercial prudence also in the granting of export credits. We agree to exchange information in the appropriate fora on all aspects of our economic, commercial and financial relations with Warsaw Pact countries.

6. Nowhere has our commitment to common basic values been demonstrated more clearly than with regard to the situation in Germany and Berlin. We remain committed to the security and freedom of Berlin and continue to support efforts to maintain the calm situation in and around the city. The continued success of efforts by the Federal Republic of Germany to improve the relationship between the two German states is important to the safeguarding of peace in Europe. We recall that the rights and responsibilities of the Four Powers relating to Berlin and Germany as a whole remain unaffected and confirm our support for the political objective of the Federal Republic of Germany to work towards a state of peace in Europe in which the German people regains its unity through free selfdetermination.

7. We condemn all acts of international terrorism. They constitute flagrant violations of human dignity and rights and are a threat to the conduct of normal international relations. In accordance with our national legislation, we stress the need for the most effective co-operation possible to prevent and suppress this scourge.

8. We call upon the Soviet Union to abide by internationally accepted standards of behaviour without which there can be no prospect of stable international relations, and to join now with us in the search for constructive relations, arms reductions and world peace.