§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Lord Privy Seal, in view of Mr. Enver Hoxha's recent statement to the eighties congress of the Party of Labour of Albania in relation to the prerequisite of returning Albanian gold before initiating any talks to establish diplomatic relations between Albania 172W and the United Kingdom, what is Her Majesty's Government's position on this matter; and whether any new initiatives will be taken to overcome current difficulties.
§ Mr. Humphrey AtkinsThe gold in question is the responsibility of the Tripartite Commission for the Restitution of Monetary Gold, on which Governments of the United States and France are equal partners with Her Majesty's Government. Since there are, moreover, several claims against Albania or on the gold itself, Her Majesty's Government cannot act unilaterally in the question. The Albanians know that our offer to re-establish diplomatic relations with Albania at once leaving the resolution of the financial problems for subsequent consideration remains open. We are continuing to examine possible solutions, taking into account the existence of other interested parties.