HC Deb 07 November 1966 vol 735 c956
9. Mr. Blaker

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement about the recent discussions between British and Soviet officials on advances in the methods of detecting underground nuclear tests by seismological techniques.

Mr. George Brown

These talks were directed to establishing a clear understanding of the exact stage that has been reached in the use of seismic techniques in the Soviet Union and the West. I followed up these talks in Washington and we now hope to proceed to further talks with the Russians and our American allies on this subject.

Mr. Blaker

Now that these talks have taken place, is it still the view of the Government that any treaty to ban underground nuclear tests must include some provision for on-site inspection?

Mr. Brown

This is obviously one of the questions which arise out of the talks and the exchanges which are now going on. I think that we had better await the outcome of the tripartite talks.