§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will convene a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the use of force by the Soviet armed forces in Lithuania.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggNo. We do not believe that raising this matter in the UN Security Council at this stage would contribute to a resolution of the present crisis. We can best help by working bilaterally and with our partners and allies to persuade the Soviet authorities to cease the use of force and return to negotiation with the elected authorities of Lithuania and the other Baltic states. We have raised the Baltic states in the current CSCE meetings at Vienna and Valletta, and are considering how best to pursue the matter further within the CSCE framework.
§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to impose economic sanctions and to withdraw technological aid to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics until the Soviet troops are withdrawn from Lithuania.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggI would refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs gave to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (Mr. Kaufman) on 16 January. The EC has decided not to implement its economic assistance to the Soviet Union if the situation which prevails in Lithuania is prolonged in any way or extended to the other Baltic states.