§ Mr. Soamesasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his proposals to extend and develop the non-proliferation treaty.
§ Mr. LuceWe consider the non-proliferation treaty to be fundamental to our policy of preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. We take every opportunity to extend its coverage by persuading states that have not yet acceded to do so. At the NPT review conference in Geneva in September, we shall urge the parties to re-affirm their commitment to it. We have no proposals for changes to the treaty itself.
§ Mr. Soamesasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will seek to obtain an 39W agreement to prevent any form of nuclear assistance to a country that has withdrawn from the non-proliferation treaty.
§ Mr. LuceWe are not aware that any state party is contemplating withdrawal from the non-proliferation treaty.
§ Mr. McCrindleasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the level of the United Kingdom's representation at the non-proliferation treaty meeting in Geneva; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LuceThe United Kingdom delegation to the preparatory committee for the non-proliferation treaty review conference is headed by the leader of the United Kingdom delegation to the Committee on Disarmament.
No final decision has been taken regarding representation at the review conference itself which begins on 2 September. It is probable that the principal United Kingdom statement will be made by a Minister of State, as was the case at the first and second review conferences in 1975 and 1980 respectively.