§ 19. Mr. Soamesasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress in the mutual and balanced force reduction talks.
§ Sir Geoffrey HoweThe response of the Soviet Union and its allies to the recent constructive Western proposal has been disappointing. Instead of matching the significant moves made by Western countries they have returned instead to the inadequate verification proposals which they made almost three years ago. We look to the East to reconsider its position in the light of Mr. Gorbachev's statements that the East is prepared both for reasonable verification and to achieve success at MBFR.