§ Mr. Cashasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements exist for ensuring that the United States Administration are made aware of Her Majesty's Government's views on arms control and disarmament issues.
§ Mr. LuceWe keep in close and regular touch with the United States, as with other allies, at a variety of levels. Our discussions cover the whole range of arms control and disarmament issues. Such issues were discussed in depth during the recent visit to Washington of my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary. They feature prominently on the agenda for talks at ministerial level. In parallel with these exchanges, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Ministry of Defence officials responsible for these questions hold frequent bilateral discussions with their American counterparts.
Arms control issues are also the subject of regular consultation within the North Atlantic Alliance and in a variety of other fora. In particular, the North Atlantic Council is employed frequently for this purpose; there is also detailed consideration of intermediate-range nuclear force (INF) issues in NATO's Special Consultative Group. In addition, United Kingdom representatives to the 165W conference on disarmament in Geneva, to the conference on disarmament in Europe in Stockholm, and at the multilateral and balanced force reductions talks in Vienna, consult extensively with United States and other Western delegates to those negotiations.