§ 21. Mr. WattsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a further statement on future developments in arms control following the intermediate nuclear forces agreement.
§ Mr. MellorWe welcome the intermediate nuclear forces agreement now in prospect, but it has yet to be finalised. In particular, the crucial question of verification remains outstanding. Following an INF agreement, NATO's priorities are for 50 per cent. cuts in the strategic arms of the United States and Soviet Union, a worldwide ban on chemical weapons and the elimination of conventional disparities between NATO and the Warsaw pact in Europe.
§ 44. Mr. WallaceTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he intends to propose any further initiative to encourage negotiations for the agreement of a comphrehensive test ban treaty.
§ Mr. MellorI have nothing to add to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave to the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen) on 3 November, at column625.
§ 60. Mr. ChapmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will report on progress at the talks in Vienna to agree the framework for negotiations on conventional stability in Europe.
§ Mr. MellorInformal contacts have been taking place in Vienna since February aimed at agreeing a mandate for negotiations on conventional stability covering the Atlantic to the Urals. Reasonable progress has been made. It is hoped that agreement can be reached to allow negotiations proper to begin in the spring or summer of 1988.