Dr. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his latest estimate of the chemical weapon capacity of the Soviet Union.
§ Mr. MellorAs my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Defence told the House on 10 November 1987, the Soviet Union commands the world's largest and most sophisticated chemical warfare capability. It has produced and stockpiled a wide variety of chemical agents and munitions, and has a massive tonnage of nerve agent alone. In December last year the Soviet Union declared that the size of its chemical weapons stockpile was 50,000 tons. This figure is substantially lower than western estimates.