Geneva Arms Talks

HC Deb 20 March 1985 vol 75 cc521-2W

7. Mr. Ernie Roberts

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Geneva talks.

22. Mr. Soames

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Geneva arms talks.

24. Mrs. Clwyd

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Geneva arms talks.

35. Mr. Johnston

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress of the Geneva arms reduction talks.

65. Mr. Harris

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the United States-Soviet disarmament talks, which opened in Geneva on 12 March.

Mr. Luce

We warmly welcome the beginning of United States-Soviet talks in Geneva on nuclear and space weapons. They are likely to be long and complex, but the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is united in its support of American efforts to achieve the mutually agreed objective of preventing an arms race in space and terminating the arms race on earth. During her visit last week to Moscow my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made this clear to Mr. Gorbachev.

23. Mr. Norman Atkinson

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will assess the implications for Britain arising from the Geneva talks; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Luce

The Geneva talks are of paramount importance for the security of all nations. Their aim is to maintain deterrence and enhance security with reduced levels of offensive systems on both sides.

26. Mr. Kirkwood

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what effect European support for the strategic defence initiative will have on the Geneva arms reduction talks.

Mr. Luce

Close consultation between the United States and its European Allies is an essential prerequisite to the success of the talks. We fully support the strategic defence initiative research, which is permitted under international agreements. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and President Reagan reaffirmed last month, SDI-related deployment would have to be the subject of negotiations with the Soviet Union. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made this clear during her meeting with Mr. Gorbachev last week.

59. Mr. Strang

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consultation he has had with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation partners about the stance of the United States Administration in the Geneva arms talks.

Mr. Luce

We are engaged in close and constant consultations with all our allies, in particular the United States, both bilaterally and multilaterally on these talks. The three American negotiators to the Geneva talks briefed the North Atlantic Council on the American negotiating position on 11 March.

60. Mr. Heddle

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the prospects for progress towards multilateral disarmament in the light of the round of talks, which opened in Geneva on 12 March.

Mr. Luce

We hope that the opening of United States-Soviet talks will encourage multilateral discussions elsewhere. These include the Geneva conference on disarmament, and in particular, the negotiations for a total ban on chemical weapons, the Stockholm conference on disarmament in Europe (CDE), which is seeking measures to reduce tension in Europe through greater openness about military activities and the mutual and balanced force reductions (MBFR) talks in Vienna, where NATO and Warsaw pact countries are negotiating reductions in conventional forces in central Europe.