§ 51. Mr. Frank Cookasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is Her Majesty's Government's response to the Warsaw treaty organisation proposals circulated on 5 March to all North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Governments for a freeze on military spending by North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and Warsaw treaty organisation countries as a first step towards reducing defence budgets and transferring resource to economic development.
§ Mr. LuceWe have made it clear that although we favour reduced expenditure on armaments, the Warsaw Pact proposal fails to address the important questions of comparability and verification. Unlike the members of the Warsaw Pact, NATO allies cooperate with the United Nations' work on standardising the reporting of military budgets.