§ Mr. Banksasked the Secretary of State for Defence in what respects he considers NATO to be an instrument of détente, as set out in Command Paper No. 6432.
§ Mr. MasonI regard NATO as an instrument of détente as well as of defence because the development of détente can be achieved only from a position of military strength. Given the growing strength of the Warsaw Pact, the security of the West must depend on NATO. In addition, the Alliance provides an essential forum for developing allied positions in those multilateral negotiations which are aimed at improving détente, such as the Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions negotiations in Vienna and the recently completed Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, held in Helsinki.