§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what information he has as to the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and heavy bombers the Soviet Union has removed from operational service since January 1985;
(2) what information he has as to the aggregate number of intercontinental and sea-launched ballistic missiles and heavy bombers the Soviet Union would be obliged to remove from operational service under the terms of a ratified SALT 2 agreement;
(3) what information he has as to the number of intercontinental and sea-launched ballistic missiles, and nuclear missile-carrying submarines the Soviet Union has been obliged to remove from operational service under the terms of SALT 1 and SALT 2.
§ Mrs. ChalkerIt is our understanding that the Soviet Union has withdrawn older strategic systems as new ones are deployed in order to stay within the agreed limits under SALT 1 and 2. The number removed relates directly to the number of new systems deployed.
§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what information he has as to the Soviet Union's compliance with the SALT 1 and SALT 2 prohibitions on the construction of new fixed intercontinental ballistic missile silos, the testing of new heavy intercontinental ballistic missiles and the number of re-entry vehicles on existing intercontinental ballistic missiles;
(2) what information he has as to whether the Soviet Union has complied with the ceilings on the number of ballistic missile launchers and the number of MIRVed ballistic missile launchers stipulated in the SALT 1 and SALT 2 treaties;
(3) what information he has as to whether the Soviet Union has tested nuclear weapons with a number of reentry vehicles in excess of that permitted under the terms of the SALT 1 and SALT 2 treaties.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe United Kingdom is not a party to either SALT 1 or SALT 2, which are bilateral agreements between the United States and Soviet Union, although SALT 2 was never ratified. We therefore have no formal standing to pronounce on matters concerning their implementation. We are not aware, however, that the United States has claimed that the Soviet Union has violated the provisions relating to these particular issues.
§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has as to the Soviet Union's provision of prior notification of tests involving multiple missile launchers and extraterritorial flights.
§ Mrs. ChalkerNone. Article XVI of the SALT 2 agreement, to which the United Kingdom is not a party, stipulates the terms under which one party should give prior notification to the other of ICBM launches.