§ Q54. Mr. Lathamasked the Prime Minister whether she will make a statement on initiatives taken recently by Her Majesty's Government to encourage mutual, verifiable and balanced disarmament measures; and whether any further initiatives are planned over the next few months.
§ The Prime MinisterLast month we, together with our allies, tabled concrete proposals at the CDE in Stockholm for confidence and security building measures. In 1983 we introduced proposals at the Committee on Disarmament in Geneva on the verification of a comprehensive ban on chemical weapons; we are considering a further initiative in this area. The United Kingdom has engaged in close consultations in NATO on the US proposals, which we fully support, for radical reductions in strategic and intermediate range nuclear weapons. NATO remains determined to pursue agreements on nuclear arms control and has urged the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to return to the Geneva talks which it walked out of last December. Discussions are in train through diplomatic channels to resume the MBFR talks in Vienna in mid-March.