§ Q4. Mr. Eadieasked the Prime Minister what arrangements for dealing with policy matters by Her Majesty's Ministers have been made as a result of the prolongation of the war in the Middle East.
§ The Prime MinisterThere has been no change in the arrangements, Sir.
§ Mr. EadieIs my right hon. Friend aware that U Thant is reported to have 615 said that we are probably in for another hundred years' war in the Middle East? As we are so dependent on the Middle East for such a large slice of our oil supplies, would not my right hon. Friend agree that this is a further illustration of how the White Paper on Fuel Policy is redundant? What does my right hon. Friend propose to do about it?
§ The Prime MinisterI do not think that anybody in this House, nor U Thant, would want to use that remark to show that nothing should be done about trying to get a settlement in the much nearer future. I know that my hon. Friend would not want his question to be misinterpreted as meaning that he is concerned only with oil supplies. There is a much stronger moral reason why we should all try to seek a settlement—
§ Mr. Biggs-DavisonLike in Nigeria.
§ The Prime MinisterYes, like in Nigeria.
§ The Prime MinisterThis is a very difficult problem, almost an intransigent one. We are pressing for an early resumption of the four-Power talks in which we have an important stake.
§ Mr. WaltersBearing in mind the increasingly deteriorating situation and the threat that it could bring to British interests, should not the Prime Minister now consider a new British Government initiative, possibly in association with France?
§ The Prime MinisterI hope that the hon. Member will feel the right answer is that, since France and ourselves are both engaged with the United States and the Soviet Union in four-Power talks, this is the right forum for pressing what I know the hon. Gentleman genuinely has in mind.
§ Dr. MillerWould the Prime Minister not agree that the full implementation of a cease-fire in the area would be the most valuable contribution to the solution of the problems there?
§ The Prime MinisterThe United Nations has repeatedly called for a ceasefire on both sides. That is really aimed at preventing the situation from getting even more dangerous than it is. The future solution of the problem, which we 616 hope will be at a much earlier date than has been mentioned this afternoon, must depend on the full implementation of the Security Council resolution, which we moved there.
§ Mr. HeathThe Foreign Secretary told the House, I think on 17th November, that his interpretation of the United Nations resolution was that withdrawal from territories did not mean all territories which were occupied in the six-day war and that this had to be read in conjunction with the words "there should be secure frontiers as a result of a settlement." Is this not a most important interpretation of the resolution, and can the Prime Minister say whether this represents any change in British policy? Is this interpretation accepted by the other three Powers with whom we are having private talks in the United Nations, and is it accepted by the Israelis and the Arabs?
§ The Prime MinisterThe right hon. Gentleman is right to draw attention to what my right hon. Friend said, but that is the interpretation we have put on it all along and made clear at the time of the acceptance of the resolution. It has been the basis of Dr. Jarring's talks. It has also been the basis of our approach in the four-Power talks. It is a question of concurrence, not necessarily in terms of time, but an agreed package from the beginning, so that if point A happens point B automatically follows, including the security of frontiers and the security of the right to live, of countries in that area who have not been granted the right even of recognition. As to what the areas from which withdrawal would be appropriate may be, that is still an unsolved problem between the Four. We have made our position clear, that it must be a package as a whole. If one thing begins the rest must follow.
§ Mr. SwainReturning to the real meaning behind my hon. Friend's Question, namely, the fuel policy, and in view of the difficulties obtaining in the nuclear power and natural gas industries, could my right hon. Friend and the Government have another look at the fuel policy with a view to its early review?
§ The Prime MinisterThe difficulties which my hon. Friend may have discerned, whether in the supply of North 617 Sea gas or in the generation of nuclear power, do not, I think, arise from the prolongation of the war in the Middle East.
§ Sir D. RentonWill the Prime Minister give an undertaking not to reduce further the strength of any of our forces in the Middle East areas, especially with regard to the Persian Gulf?
§ The Prime MinisterMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence has said in repeated defence debates that the right hon. and learned Gentleman totally misconceives our position over our influence in the Middle East if he thinks that it depends on forces in the Persian Gulf.