§ 11. Mr. Pargiterasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will give an estimate as to the number of Soviet troops in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary, respectively.
§ Mr. Ormsby-GoreThere are about 100 Soviet line divisions which are of varying strengths, in Eastern Europe, including European Russia. A certain number of these are stationed on the territory of some Central and Eastern European countries. It would, however, be unwise for me to give any detailed estimate about the precise deployment of Soviet forces in Europe.
§ Mr. PargiterDoes not the right hon. Gentleman consider that to be a most unsatisfactory reply? As so much has been said about the stationing of Soviet troops in Eastern Europe, would it not be true to say that there are no troops in Czechoslovakia?
§ Mr. Ormsby-GoreThe hon. Member should not assume that. We are in some difficulty, because quite obviously the Soviet Union would like to know how accurate our sources of information are. If we disclose precisely what we believe their order of battle to be, we shall give them a great deal of information.