§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the contribution of the anti-ballistic missile treaty to strategic stability. [57978]
§ Mr. HoonWe have always valued strategic stability between the United States and Russia, a stability to which the anti-ballistic missile treaty made a major contribution throughout the cold war. But it is important to recognise that the strategic context is changing and that it is stability we value rather than one particular means for achieving it. To this end we welcome the progress that the United States and Russia have made towards a new strategic framework, in particular their recent agreement on major reductions in nuclear weapons.