The second and longest stage of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) - agreeing on the text of the Helsinki Final Act - opened in Geneva on 18 September 1973.

Hundreds of diplomats and other experts from the 35 participating States were gathered for what amounted to the first-ever multilateral East-West negotiations.

Progress was slow, as might be expected for a task of such historical significance, and some of the participants were given to venting their frustration in the media.

"We are not exactly reaching the hearts and minds of people. No-one hears our debate except diplomats," one US delegate told the International Herald Tribune in November 1973.

Progess "at the rhythm of mankind"

Meanwhile, senior Soviet diplomat Yuri Dubinin (later to become his country's Ambassador to the USA) observed stoically: "We are progressing at the rhythm of mankind."

But, as one anonymous Irish delegate put it: "It may be a closed affair and there are certainly none of the fun and games of some conferences, but it is better we take our time; better to succeed in six months than fail in one."

Despite the slow progress of the Geneva negotiations, their importance in bridging the gap between East and West was fully recognized by many observers.

More peaceful and friendly continent

"The true task (of the CSCE) should be to consider how the conference can still contribute to making Europe a more peaceful and friendly continent," opined The Economist in July 1974.

"Tedious as the Geneva haggling has been and will continue to be, it would be a mistake for the western side to try to escape it either by botching up face-saving terms for holding a final session or by letting it fade away into oblivion.

"While it lasts, it provides a continual reminder that half of the continent's inhabitants are cooped up behind barriers whose existence breeds misunderstanding, suspicion and fear."

Finally, after a negotiating process that had lasted 22 months, the second stage of the CSCE closed on 21 July 1975. The Helsinki Final Act was ready to be signed.