HC Deb 08 December 1987 vol 124 cc113-4W
82. Mr. Ted Garrett

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is Her Majesty's Government's position on conventional stability talks.

86. Mr. Paul Flynn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is Her Majesty's Government's position on conventional stability talks.

88. Mr. Haynes

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is Her Majesty's Government's position on conventional stability talks.

Mr. Mellor

We fully support the launching of conventional stability talks covering the Atlantic to the Urals, which were first called for in the NATO Brussels declaration of December 1986. To this end we are playing an active part in informal discussions between NATO and Warsaw pact representatives in Vienna aimed at agreeing a mandate for the negotiations which it is hoped will begin in the course of next year. The establishment of a stable and secure balance of forces in Europe at lower levels will be a primary objective of the Government in these negotiations, together with the elimination of disparities and of the Warsaw pact's capability for surprise attack and offensive action.