§ Lord Jenkins of Putneyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why the following passage was omitted from the Foreign Office summary of President Brezhnev's Der Spiegel interview:
We see the objective of the coming talks as translating the principle of parity and equal security into the language of concrete commitments. The Soviet Union would like the talks to result in the lowering of the level of confrontation instead of raising this level and in the road being opened to further steps for military detente in Europe";and whether they will make available in the Library a translation of the full text.
§ The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Lord Carrington)The summary of President Brezhnev'sDer Spiegel interview was not intended to be comprehensive. By request, it was made available to the House of Lords Library at a time when we did not have a full translation. While the passage quoted is of interest and the sentiment expressed therein is welcomed and shared by the West, it does not represent any refinement or expansion of known Soviet positions. I am arranging for a full translation of the interview, as it appeared in the BBC's Summary of World Broadcasts, to be placed in the House of Lords Library.