§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps Her Majesty's Government intend to take to fulfil their undertakings under the partial nuclear test ban treaty 1963, to set a date for the ending of all nuclear testing.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe 1963 partial test ban treaty does not require the parties to it to set a date for the ending of all nuclear tests. The parties to the treaty state as their principal aim the speediest possible achievement of an agreement on general and complete disarmament. The cessation of nuclear testing is clearly linked with this. For as long as we rely for our security on deterrence based in part on the possession of nuclear weapons we will need to test them at a minimum level. The cessation of nuclear testing, therefore, remains a long-term goal.