On June 12, 1968, the General Assembly passed a resolution recommending the adoption of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. President Johnson of the US urged the members in the General Assembly to adopt the Treaty. The objectives of the treaty were to limit the spread of nuclear weapons from nuclear to non-nuclear states, to encourage disarmament by nuclear nations and to allow all nations to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

There were a series of wars between various Arab states and Israel ever since Israel received independence in 1948. In these Wars the Soviet Union supported the Arab cause while the US backed Israel. In the war between Israel and Egypt in 1967, the Soviet Union expressed itself strongly, against the pro-Israeli policies of the Western Powers. This increased the intensity of the cold war between the Soviet Union and the US.

The East European communist countries resented Soviet domination. There were riots in East Berlin and Poland due to this. A student revolt broke out in Hungary in October 1956. Workers joined them. The Communist government first asked for Soviet intervention but ultimately introduced reforms. As a result of this, Soviet troops were withdrawn from Hungary. Enraged by this action, Russia attempted harsh reprisals and the matter was brought up in the UN by America.

Since 1948, a Communist government was in power in Czechoslovakia. The Communist Party leader in Czechoslovakia, Alexander Dubeck wanted to bring about a Socialist democratic revolution. The Warsaw Pact countries and the Soviet Union attempted to stop Dubeck from carrying out his reform plans. When these efforts failed, Czechoslovakia was invaded by the Soviet, Polish, Hungarian, Bulgarian and East German troops on August 20, 1968. The western powers passed a resolution condemning the action by the Soviet Union conglomerate.