§ 34. Mr. HansonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the European Union and UN Security Council responses to the nuclear test programmes in India and Pakistan. [44547]
§ Mr. FatchettThe European Union and United Nations Security Council have made clear their condemnation of the nuclear tests in India and Pakistan, principally in Declarations by the European Union at meetings of the General Affairs Council on 25 May and 8 June, and by the United Nations Security Council in Presidential Statements on 14 and 29 May and a Security Council Resolution on 6 June.
We and international partners have left India and Pakistan in no doubt of our concern at the tests. We have made it clear that they must now take early steps to adhere unconditionally to the relevant non-proliferation regimes, including the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. We have also urged both countries to resume their bilateral 198W dialogue to address the root causes of tension between them, and to agree confidence-building measures to restore stability to the region.