At this point I would like to make a few opening remarks It is a special honour for me to assume the presidency of the Conference on Disarmament. I represent a country that is party to all major multilateral agreements on arms control and which has been a member of this august body since its inception. Bulgaria regards international arms control and disarmament as a priority in terms of its national security doctrine. Thus, my Government has a vested national interest in the work of this Conference and I can assure you of my delegation's total commitment in carrying out its important assignment

At the outset, let me pay tribute to my predecessors, Ambassadors Harald Kreid of Austria, Iftekhar Chowdhury of Bangladesh, Sergei Martynov of Belarus Jean Lint of Belgium and Celso Amorim of Brazil. They have guided this Conference with tireless effort and skilled diplomacy through what has been another year of doubt and sometimes, frustration. My predecessors have all diligently tackled the challenge before us with the courage and the finesse that it requires. Each and every one of them has covered some ground, explored some territory and in this way moved our Conference a little closer to consensus.

I will strive towards that same goal, building on what has been achieved so far. Ambassador Amorim jokes that he has never received so many congratulations for having failed. Indeed, in February 1993, when he previously presided over the Conference, it was able to agree on the organizational arrangements which permitted it to get down to work expeditiously on substantive issues. Four ad hoc committees were established as subsidiary bodies at the time. Today we must realize that the political and strategic environment in which the Conference on Disarmament is functioning has changed. The last two years have shown that now we need an even more determined and all-inclusive political and diplomatic effort to agree on advancing the Conference's work in the field of multilateral disarmament and arms control Our common objective is not out of reach, but it will require still more patience and persistence.

I would not subscribe to the opinions of those who consider that the Conference on Disarmament is in a crisis or even dying, I would rather tend to think that when there is a problem in international relations and global security then surely there is a job for diplomats, and especially for this Conference. In my view, we are not just mere representatives of our respective Governments here, we are also participants in the formulation of our Governments policies.

Accordingly, I will continue trying to harmonize our efforts to the best of my abilities' while at the same time representing the collective will of this Conference, The last President of the year's session has a special responsibility to continue consulting, if need be, after the closure of the session and, come that time, I intend to use this prerogative to the fullest. I am counting on all the delegations' usual cooperation.

My other duty as the presiding officer will be to facilitate the preparation of the Conference's annual report. In so doing 1 shall once again rely on the wisdom and the. support of

(The President)

all Of My colleagues in this hall, as well as on the proven efficiency of our secretariat led by Secretary-General Vladimir Petrovsky and his deputy, Mr. Abdelkader Bensmail. With everyone's assistance I shall endeavour to follow the rules of procedure', which bind us to be accurate and factual 'm our account of the year's activities of -the Conference on Disarmament.

This concludes my opening remarks. I have on my list of speakers for today the representatives of Israel, the United States of America and Romania- 1 give the floor to the representative of Israel, Ambassador David Peleg.

My. PELEG (Israel): Mr. President, since this is the first time that I am taking the floor under your presidency, I would like to wish you success and to assure you of our support. At the same time, I would like to thank your predecessors, Ambassador Jean Lint of Belgium and Ambassador Colso Amorim of Brazil, for the work they have done- I also take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the SecretaryGeneral of the Conference, Mr. Vladimir Petrovsky, and to his deputy, Mr. Abdelkader Bensmail I, for their efforts and devotion.

As I will soon be leaving Geneva after two years as the Permanent Representative of Israel, I would like to express my gratitude for the cooperation and goodwill I have enjoyed during this period. ( believe that this will also be a good opportunity to share with you some of Israel's views with regard to security and arms control

At the outset, let me state that, as a relatively new member of the Conference on

Disarmament, Israel is proud to be part of it and shall continue to contribute to its work. Israel
attaches great importance to supporting the Conference and sees it as a unique forum for freely negotiating issues of arms control and disarmament on the basis of consensus. Moreover, we believe that, as a multilateral forum with a global approach, the Conference must avoid assuming the mandates of other forums, bilateral or regional,

Israel is actively involved in promoting peace. with its neighbours. At present, Israel enjoys peaceful relations with Egypt and Jordan, is negotiating with the Palestinians on the issue of permanent status and hopes soon to resume peace negotiations with Syria and Lebanon.

In spite of continued efforts to extend the peace process towards the goat of a comprehensive peace, there are still States in the Middle East which threaten Israel's security and continue to negate its very right to exist, One of these States, Iraq, devoted a major part of its vast income from oil to developing weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons. It was engaged in a process of developing these weapons, notwithstanding its ratification of the NPT and the existence of safeguards. It developed chemical and biological weapons and used the poison gas which it had developed both against its own population and against [ran. During the Gulf war, its missiles were fired at Israeli cities and at cities in Saudi Arabia. These same missiles were capable of carrying non-conventional warheads- It should be noted that, besides Iraq other States in our region have also developed chemical weapons and ballistic missiles armed with chemical warheads and still continue with these efforts.

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