§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in international discussions in recent years towards the achievement of conventional disarmament; and what are the major problems still unresolved.
§ Mr. LuceThe major forum for the negotiation of conventional force reductions in which we participate is the mutual and balanced force reduction talks in Vienna which began in 1973. The zone of reductions is the central European area which contains the great concentration of such forces in the world.
Unfortunately, progress has been slow for two main reasons. The first is the refusal of the Eastern side to acknowledge its existing superiority and hence the need for it to take larger reductions than the West if the jointly agreed goal of parity at 900,000 ground and air forces on each side is to be reached. The second is Eastern reluctance to accept verification measures adequate to assure both sides that reductions are taken and subsequent levels maintained in accordance with any agreement reached.