§ 42. Mr. Jim Spicerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the latest round of mutual and balanced force reduction talks at Vienna.
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§ Mr. LuceDuring the latest round—24 May to 19 July—of the mutual and balanced force reduction talks, the focus of discussion has been the new Western initiative tabled in April. This offers a real opportunity to resolve the long-standing dispute over the size of Eastern forces. The East's response has been disappointingly negative. But we and our allies have emphasised that our proposal is not presented on a take-it-or-leave-it basis. We are very willing to discuss its provisions. We hope for a more productive dialogue in the next round which begins on 27 September.