Dr. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further initiatives Her Majesty's Government have planned in the field of chemical disarmament; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MellorInformation about the exchange of visits between the United Kingdom chemical defence establishment at Porton Down and the Soviet chemical warfare facility at Shikhany was given to the House by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces on 5 May. The Soviet team is visiting Porton Down this week and as part of the programme will have talks in the FCO on 27 May about the continuing negotiations in Geneva for a comprehensive and global ban on chemical weapons.
196WI expect to visit Geneva in July to address the conference on disarmament. A substantial part of my speech will deal with the subject of chemical weapons, particularly some of the remaining problem areas in the negotiations for a global ban.