§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their response to the United States proposals for the "transformation" of NATO (President Clinton, International Herald Tribune, 17 December) into an organisation which is globally active and United States-led.
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanWe are not aware of any statement by President Clinton on the lines referred to in the noble Lord's Question. However we agree with Mrs. Albright's remarks, quoted in theInternational Herald Tribune of 17 December that "the United States and Europe will certainly face challenges beyond Europe's shores"; "our nations share global interests that require us to work together with the same degree of solidarity as we have long maintained in the continent".
§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether NATO, as experienced and supported by successive British Governments over recent decades, or the "transformed" NATO currently being advanced by the United States as an element in its own "global strategy", which would extend NATO's responsibilities into the Caspian Oil Province and into the Middle East, is "the bedrock of European security and a key component in our foreign and defence policies", as stated by Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 9 December (WA18).
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanAs I informed the noble Lord in my Written Answer of 9 December, we have consistently made clear our wholehearted commitment to NATO.
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§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answers by Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 9 December (WA 17–19), whether it is now being proposed by the United States to its NATO allies that NATO's area of operations be extended to the Middle East and to dealing there with weapons of mass destruction; and, if it is so proposed, whether the proposal includes monitoring the uses Israel may make of its nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons such as those recently used by its forces in Amman.
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanNATO has no defined area of operations and the United States has not proposed creating one.
In her speech to the North Atlantic Council on 16 December, Secretary Albright expressed concern at the threat from the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. We share that concern and are strongly committed to preventing such proliferation. We shall pursue this vigorously in close co-operation with our allies and partners, with the aim of maintaining and strengthening the relevant treaties and supplier regimes.