§ Lord Jenkins of Putneyasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many peace proposals have been received from the USSR and what have been the replies.
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Belstead)In recent months the Soviet Union has made four proposals for disarmament at meetings of the United Nations. We have said that we do not believe that a declaration renouncing the first use of nuclear weapons would increase international security. We have however welcomed the references to verification and on-site inspections in the Russian draft of a convention banning chemical weapons. We expect that we shall have an opportunity in the near future to make known to the Russians our views on their initiatives for a nuclear freeze, and for a Comprehensive Test Ban to be negotiated by the Committee on Disarmament.