§ 1. Sir Peter Blakerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will pay an official visit to Geneva.
§ The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Sir Geoffrey Howe)I have no plans to visit Geneva at present. However, the Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Shoreham (Mr. Luce), addressed the conference on disarmament in Geneva on the 14th of this month and laid particular emphasis on the importance of a total, worldwide ban on chemical weapons. As a further contribution to the negotiations, he introduced another in the series of British proposals on verification.
§ Sir Peter BlakerIs my right hon. and learned Friend aware that he will have the support of the House for the latest proposals put forward by the Government for a total ban on chemical weapons? Does he agree that it is one of the most important subjects now on the disarmament agenda, especially in view of the enormous stocks of chemical weapons possessed by the Soviet Union? Is there any sign of movement in the attitude of the Soviet Union towards the key question of verification?
§ Sir Geoffrey HoweI am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his support. I take this opportunity to congratulate him on the 21st anniversary of his first association with disarmament negotiations, as he was a witness to the 1963 test ban treaty. I agree about the importance of a worldwide ban on chemical weapons and about the size of stocks held by the Soviet Union. We are able to welcome, at least at the outset, the positive step announced yesterday by the Soviet Union on the continuous inspection of the destruction of chemical warfare stockpiles. Other aspects, however, have to be covered, including in particular the need for arrangements for challenge inspection. We trust that in further discussions there will be further advances from the Soviet Union.
§ Mr. James LamondSurely the agreement of the Soviet Union to this measure came as no surprise to the 802 Foreign Secretary, as it is exactly in line with the proposals made at the United Nations special session in New York in 1982, when Mr. Gromyko made the same proposal, including the question of agreement to on-site verification.
§ Sir Geoffrey HoweAs I have said before, on the subject of verification there has been some hope of arriving at common ground. The initiative tabled by my hon. Friend the Minister of State on the 14th of this month dealt with the additional and even more important subject of challenge inspection. The hon. Gentleman is right in saying that the response from the Soviet Union was not unexpected. We hope that in the course of further discussions we shall be able to persuade the Soviet Union that our other proposals are an essential complement.