§ 5. Mr. David ShawTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the Government's current assessment of the military threat from the Soviet Union.
§ Mr. Tom KingIt is clear that the Soviet Union as we have known it no longer exists. Much of the old Soviet system has effectively collapsed and power is increasingly transferring to the republics. The most recent decision, if sustained, by Russia, the Ukraine, Byelorussia and Kazakhstan, that the Soviet Union is no longer authorised to represent their economic interests, will have the most profound economic effects and will further complicate the question of paying for their armed forces. At the same time, if the present forces are split up between the republics, Russia alone would still have conventional forces larger than any other European state, and would remain a nulcear superpower. NATO's new strategic concept agreed at the Rome summit two weeks ago takes prudent account of these continuing capabilities.