§ Mr. Greenwayasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the levels of nerve gas and chemical weapons held by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
§ Mr. StanleyThe Soviet Union has a major chemical warfare capability. Its chemical weapons stockpile is assessed to include some 300,000 tonnes of nerve agent alone. It has specialist troops responsible for aspects of nuclear, biological and chemical warfare. Soviet forces are also comprehensively equipped and trained to operate in a chemically contaminated environment. There are no chemical weapons declared to NATO, although the United States possesses a limited and aging retaliatory capability.