§ Mr. Baldryasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out the initiatives taken by Her Majesty's Government since 1979 to secure mutual, balanced and verifiable arms reductions.
§ Mr. LuceSince 1979 we have introduced a total of six initiatives in the conference on disarmament in Geneva, three of which were on verification aspects of a chemical weapons ban. The remainder covered elements of a radiological weapons treaty, peaceful nuclear explosions and seismic verification in relation to a nuclear test ban. In addition we have played an active role in the MBFR talks in Vienna and the conference on disarmament in Stockholm.
§ Mr. Soamesasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs at which talks on arms control the United Kingdom is currently represented.
§ Mr. LuceThe United Kingdom is represented at the conference on disarmament at Geneva, the conference on disarmament in Europe at Stockholm, and the mutual and balanced force reduction talks at Vienna.
§ Mr. Soamesasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the present position of the Stockholm conference.
§ Mr. LuceI refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, Pentlands (Mr. Rifkind) on 21 March, at column 454, to my hon. Friend the Member for St. Ives (Mr. Harris).
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§ Mr. Soamesasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what obstacles he sees to the conclusion of a comprehensive test ban treaty.
§ Mr. LuceWe are engaged at the conference on disarmament in Geneva in discussions on a ban on nuclear tests, but we believe that it would be premature to resume negotiations proper on a treaty while important problems of verification remain unresolved. We would of course welcome progress towards an eventual solution of these, and will continue to work actively to that end.
§ Mr. Soamesasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps Her Majesty's Government have taken since May 1983 to negotiate confidence-building measures and to enhance stability and security in the whole of Europe.
§ Mr. LuceTogether with our partners in the NATO Alliance, we tabled a set of proposals at the Stockholm conference on 24 January. In accordance with the conference's mandate, these proposals were for a set of confidence and security building measures which are binding, militarily significant, verifiable and which cover the whole of Europe. Agreement on such concrete and practical measures would promote genuine confidence throughout Europe. With the exception of Romania, members of the Warsaw pact have not so far made any formal proposals, and detailed negotiations have therefore not yet begun. We hope it will be possible to make substantive progress when the conference resumes on 8 May.
§ Mr. Soamesasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current position in the mutual balanced force reduction talks in Vienna.
§ Mr. LuceThe West tabled a new initiative at the mutual and balanced force reductions talks in Vienna on 19 April. We hope that the East will respond favourably when the next round begins on 24 May. Our initiative provides a new opportunity to resolve the data question which has blocked progress for so long.