HL Deb 16 December 1970 vol 313 c1502WA
LORD BROCKWAY

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What reply has been given to the invitation by the Government of Finland that bilateral consultations should take place in Helsinki between missions of the Governments concerned and the Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs regarding the proposed conference on European Security and Co-operation.

THE MARQUESS OF LOTHIAN

We are already in contact bilaterally with the Finnish Government about the question of European security. The Finnish Roving Ambassador for European Security, Mr. Enckell, was in London five weeks ago. We appreciate the spirit in which the Finnish proposal of a muli-lateral meeting of Ambassadors in Helsinki is made. NATO Ministers meeting in Brussels on December 3 and 4, reaffirmed in their Communiqué their readinessas soon as the talks on Berlin have reached a satisfactory conclusion and in so far as the other on-going talks are proceeding favourably, to enter into multilateral contacts with all interested Governments to explore when it would be possible to convene a conference, or a series of conferences, on security and cooperation in Europe". We will bear the Finnish Government's proposal in mind in this connection.