§ Mr. Cohenasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made towards achieving a total chemical weapons ban on Europe; and, in view of reports that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is coming out in favour of such a ban, if any communication to this effect has been received by Her Majesty's Government.
§ Mr. LuceWe remain firmly committed to reaching agreement at the Geneva conference on disarmament on a total and fully verifiable ban, applied worldwide, on the development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. The Soviet proposal for a European chemical weapon-free zone, repeated by the Soviet Union on behalf of the Warsaw pact in January this year and subsequently tabled by it at the Stockholm conference on disarmament in Europe is inadequate. There is no sensible alternative to a global ban. Moreover, a limited ban would require the same degree of verification necessary in a global ban from which the whole world would benefit. This aspect is not addressed in the Soviet proposals.