HL Deb 17 March 1982 vol 428 cc746-7WA
Lord Brockway

asked Her Majesty's Government: What their attitude is at the Vienna talks on the mutual reduction of the opposing armed forces in Central Europe, to the proposal made by Czechoslovakia and other East European Governments for a reduction in two stages to the level of 900,000 men each, beginning with cuts in land forces by the Soviet Union of 20,000 and by the USA of 13,000, together with the mutual freezing of numerical strengths.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Lord Carrington)

We will examine this proposal carefully. At first sight it would appear to contain little that is new. It essentially codifies and reiterates well-known eastern positions and ignores those which are known to be crucial to the Alliance, especially agreed data and verification. Without these a worthwhile agreement is not possible.