HC Deb 06 April 1970 vol 799 cc31-2
39. Mr. Frank Allaun

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take the initiative within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation to support the proposals released by the Atlantic Council for a mutual East-West troop reduction in four stages.

Mr. George Thomson

I had in fact assumed that my hon. Friend is referring to proposals made by the Atlantic Council of the United States which is an unofficial body. The North Atlantic Council which is the Ministerial Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation has already put forward proposals for mutual force reductions, but so far no reply has been received from the Warsaw Pact organisation. Meantime N.A.T.O. is proceeding with exhaustive technical studies of the best way to bring about such force reductions.

Mr. Allaun

On this point about mutually balanced troop reductions, may I say that I fully agree with my right hon. Friend's policy? Is he aware that, if America is proposing next year to reduce the number of her troops in Europe, it makes it particularly sensible and important from Britain's point of view that we should proceed in this direction?

Mr. Thomson

What my hon. Friend said does not surprise me, because I know that he follows these matters closely and with great sincerity. The weakness of the proposals put forward by Dr. Stanley, chairman of the organisation, was that he proposed as the first stage a unilateral American withdrawal in the hope that there would be a reduction on the War- saw Pact side as a result of that example. The proposals for balanced reductions put forward by N.A.T.O. are by far the most practical way in which we can hope to make progress.