Middle East (Hansard, 24 April 1991)

§ 14. Mr. Kirkwood
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he now proposes to take to promote arms control in the middle east; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Hurd
We want to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the missiles used to deliver them. We will work through the nuclear suppliers group, the Australia group and the missile technology control regime to choke off the supply of the materials, components and technology needed to manufacture such weapons.
We will also pursue a more responsible approach internationally to conventional weapons transfers, including through a UN register of arms transfers to monitor the scale of arms build-up in any country.

§ 29. Mr. Archer
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on recent efforts by Her Majesty's Government to promote the peace process in the middle east.

§ 31. Mr. Andrew Mitchell
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made by Her Majesty's Government towards the convening of an international conference on the middle east.

§ 38. Mr. Tim Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made since the end of the Gulf war towards a comprehensive peace settlement in the middle east.

§ 39. Mr. Anderson
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current stage of the middle east peace process.

§ Mr. Douglas Hogg
Since the end of the Gulf conflict the United States Secretary of State has launched a new 453W initiative aimed at starting peace negotiations between Israel and her neighbours, including the Palestinians. He has visited the area three times. We support his efforts to secure agreement from the parties to attend a regional conference, and are encouraging them to do so. Our European partners are in agreement with this approach. We still think it likely that an international conference under United Nations auspices will be needed at a later stage.