§ Mr. Strangasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the prospects for inclusion in INF talks of (a) theatre-assigned submarine-launched ballistic missiles and (b) dual-capable aircraft.
§ Mr. RentonThe INF negotiations at the Geneva nuclear and space talks, to which the United Kingdom is not a party, currently deal only with land-based cruise and ballistic missiles.
NATO Alliance policy since 1979 has been that INF arms control should be a step-by-step process. The immediate priority is for an agreement on a global basis as discussed at Reykjavik: a zero-zero solution on land-based cruise and ballistic missiles in Europe, with tight limits on SS20s in Soviet Asia and on Soviet shorter range INF. Discussion of submarine-launched ballistic missiles and dual capable aircraft could be for consideration once the initial agreement on land-based missiles was achieved.