HC Deb 26 June 1989 vol 155 cc365-6W
Mr. Boyes

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will list those Warsaw pact countries which were formerly producing chemical warfare agents but which have now ceased production;

(2) which Warsaw pact countries are currently manufacturing chemical warfare agents.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

The Soviet Union is the only member of the Warsaw pact to have admitted producing chemical warfare agents, and it has also claimed that such production has ceased. The other Warsaw pact countries have stated that they do not produce such agents, but none has provided any evidence to support its claims.

All the non-soviet Warsaw pact countries have chemical industries with the capability to produce chemical warfare agents and we believe that some have produced chemical weapons. The details of our assessments of individual countries' programmes are classified.

Mr. Boyes

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in what year the Soviet Union first deployed chemical weapons in any non-Soviet Warsaw pact country; and whether (a) Soviet chemical warfare agents, (b) Soviet chemical weapons and (c) unfilled Soviet chemical munitions are currently deployed in any Warsaw pact country other than the Soviet Union.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

In spite of Soviet claims, we have good reason to believe that the Soviet Union has stationed chemical weapons in Eastern Europe. I am not prepared to comment in detail for security reasons, but there is an obvious need for the Soviet Union to make available much more information about its chemical warfare capabilities.

Mr. Boyes

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has on the supply of(a) chemical warfare agents and (b) precursors for chemical warfare agents by Warsaw pact countries to non-Warsaw pact countries.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

We have no evidence that in recent years any Warsaw pact country has supplied chemical warfare agents to any non-Warsaw pact country.

The Warsaw pact countries have very large chemical industries whose products are exported worldwide. Many of the precursors for chemical warfare agents are common chemicals which have a variety of legitimate uses. These are traded widely by many countries, including those of the Warsaw pact. The Warsaw pact countries have stated that they impose export controls on a number of the immediate precursors to chemical warfare agents, and we have no evidence that controls are being contravened.