§ Mr. ButlerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what evidence his Department has that the Soviet Union is reducing its capacity to produce chemical and biological weapons.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe Soviet Union declared in 1987 that it had ceased production of chemical weapons. We are, however, not aware of any change in Soviet capacity to produce them since then. The Soviet Union is a signatory of the 1972 biological warfare convention and has stated it is in compliance with its obligations. Any production of biological weapons would be in breach of the convention.