HL Deb 22 March 1984 vol 449 cc1459-60WA
Lord Kennet

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether in the light of the answers given by Foreign Office Ministers in July 1976 concerning the transit of the Soviet aircraft carrier "Kiev" through the straits from the Black Sea into the Mediterranean under the misleading description. "anti-submarine warfare cruiser", the Government will now raise with the Government of Turkey, and the other signatories to the Montreux Convention, the Soviet Union's presumable intention to send the nuclear powered aircraft carrier reputedly now being built in the Black Sea through the straits, in spite of the terms of the convention, which forbid the passage of aircraft carriers.

Baroness Young

Questions regarding the application of provisions of the Montreux Convention are discussed from time to time with other parties to the convention, including the Turkish Government, which is responsible for the supervision of its implementation. As the noble Lord will be aware, our view of the application of the convention to aircraft carriers is not shared by all the other parties.