At a meeting of the Soviet Kazakhstan Communist Party to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic on Friday (August 28), Soviet Communist Party leader Leonid Brezhnev spoke on a wide range of international issues.

Speaking about the Soviet-West German treaty signed 16 days ago, the 63-year-old leader rebutted allegations that the Soviet Union had signed the treaty in order to increase pressure on China. Mr Brezhnev said that the treaty would be of great positive influence for further development of Bonn-Moscow relations and for the entire European situation.

The Kremlin leader also insisted that the Soviet Union regarded the Middle East ceasefire as the basis for lasting peace in the area. Urging that the opportunity for peace should not be lost, Mr Brezhnev called for honest observance of the agreement and referred to new opportunities for realistic and responsible approaches to a peace settlement.

Mr Brezhnev also expressed the hope of a reconciliation with the People's Republic of China, saying that normalisation of relations with China would meet the interests of the world and of the socialist system.

The Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan from whose capital Mr Brezhnev was speaking, borders China.