§ 33. Mr. Marlowasked the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department makes of the type and extent of activity of Soviet armed forces in countries other than the Soviet Union.
§ Mr. BlakerThe Soviet Union has 30 combat divisions and well over 2,000 aircraft in countries of eastern Europe outside the USSR. In Afghanistan there are a further three divisions of ground troops with supporting air forces. It is estimated that there are 20,000 Soviet troops and military advisers in 30 Third world countries; to these can be added 36,000 Cubans and 3,000 east Europeans, mostly East Germans. The Soviet navy has a worldwide capability with permanent deployments in the North Atlantic, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the Indian ocean.