HC Deb 13 November 1984 vol 67 cc521-2
3. Mr. Chapman

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of the total number of SS missile warheads targeted on western Europe; and how this figure compares with one year and five years ago.

The Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Mr. John Stanley)

The number of warheads on SS20 missiles facing west is 729. No new bases facing western Europe have been completed in the past year, but further bases are currently under construction in both the eastern and western USSR which, when operational, could significantly increase the number of SS20s. The number of SS20s has trebled since 1979.

Mr. Chapman

Do not those figures show conclusively that the Soviet Government have not negotiated seriously between 1979 and 1983 when, if they had reduced the number of their SS warheads, the West would not have needed to deploy cruise and Pershing? Has not the Soviet Union escalated the arms race and increased tension in Europe? Are not the figures a timely reminder to people in Europe that the British Government must pursue multilateral disarmament in the years ahead?

Mr. Stanley

My hon. Friend is right. Regrettably, the INF negotiations in Geneva have not made progress, and responsibility for the lack of progress lies firmly on the Soviet side. My hon. Friend is also right to point out that the INF escalation has been on the Soviet side. The SS20 deployment started two years before NATO even decided on its own INF deployment and six years before any cruise or Pershing II deployment.

Mr. James Lamond

Did the figures given by the Minister come from the same rather unreliable source which recently categorically stated that MiG fighters were being unloaded in Nicaragua?

Mr. Stanley

Those figures have been published before, and we believe that they are absolutely reliable

Mr. Cyril D. Townsend

Can my right hon. Friend confirm press reports that SS20s have been sited in Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia? Will he also confirm that it is still the West's plan to withdraw existing cruise missiles and not to position any more such missiles in this country if the Soviet Union is prepared to withdraw its SS20s?

Mr. Stanley

I am sure that my hon. Friend will understand that I cannot comment on the detailed locations of SS20 sites. However, I assure him that the INF offer which the NATO countries have made remains on the table. The zero option remains on the table, together with the modification of an agreement with the Soviet Union on the basis of equal numbers at a lesser figure than those now deployed. Those offers remain firmly on the table, and it is our earnest hope that the Soviet Union will negotiate on that basis.

Mr. Strang

Is the Minister aware that these deployments are to be deplored? Does he accept that the Soviet Union is doing exactly what it said it would do and that the deployment of these weapons is a direct consequence of the breakdown of the INF talks, which was caused by the decision of the West to press ahead with the deployment of cruise and, in particular, Pershing II?

Mr. Stanley

The hon. Gentleman could not have listened to the chronology that I gave. Deployment of the SS20 missiles began six years before the start of cruise and Pershing II deployment.