§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries have weapons of mass destruction. [43089]
608W
§ Mr. BradshawUnder the terms of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, China and Russia are legally entitled to possess nuclear weapons.
Additionally, India and Pakistan have tested nuclear devices. We continue to encourage Israel to resolve international concerns about its nuclear status by acceding to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty as a non-nuclear weapons state. We also know that Iraq possesses significant biological and chemical weapons capabilities and, were UN sanctions to be lifted, we believe it could develop a nuclear weapon within five years.
There are four States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (The US, Russia, India and another State Party) that have declared possession of chemical weapons. They are currently in the process of destroying them in accordance with their obligations under the convention.
We are also aware of, and very concerned by, persistent reports that Iran, The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Libya and Syria are pursuing programmes to develop WMD and the means for their delivery.