Westminster Diary

Lloyd Russell Moyle MP asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the US withdrawal from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, whether US intermediate-range nuclear weapons be accepted for deployment within UK land borders.

Alan Duncan, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs responded “There has been no request from the US to deploy new missiles to Europe. As NATO made clear in a recent statement on the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, NATO continues to review closely the security implications of Russian intermediate-range missiles and will continue to take steps necessary to ensure the credibility and effectiveness of the Alliance’s overall deterrence and defence posture. Allies will continue to consult each other regularly with a view to ensuring our collective security.”

Hugh Gaffney MP asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, “what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on the security of the UK of the US suspension of its obligations under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty”

Alan Duncan, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs responded, “We support the US decision to suspend its participation in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and start the treaty’s formal withdrawal process. A situation where the US was respecting the INF Treaty and Russia was not, was not sustainable. Through the development and deployment of its SSC-8 cruise missile system, Russia has put European security at risk. We are working closely with all NATO Allies to review the security implications of Russian intermediate-range missiles and will continue to take the necessary steps to ensure the credibility and effectiveness of the Alliance’s overall deterrence and defence posture. This was reaffirmed by NATO Allies on 2 February.”

Nicholas Soames MP asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, “what reports he has received of violations by Russia of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty since 2014?”

Alan Duncan, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs responded “NATO Allies first expressed concerns about Russian non-compliance with its Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty obligations in 2014. These concerns have been repeated many times, including at the NATO Summit in July 2018. In December 2018, NATO Foreign Ministers offered strong support to the finding of the US that Russia was in material breach of the Treaty, citing its covert testing, production and fielding of 9M729 ground-launched cruise missile systems. The UK monitors Russian missile programmes very carefully. While we cannot go into details on matters of intelligence, we are confident in our assessment that Russia is in violation of the INF Treaty. That assessment is shared by all NATO Allies.”

Nicholas Soames MP also asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, “what discussions he has had with the US Administration on their recent decision to suspend the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.”

Alan Duncan, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs responded ”

We have been discussing the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with the US for a number of years as part of our continuous dialogue on security issues. The US also initiated a series of meetings on INF with close Allies in 2017 and 2018, during which we discussed the US approach and exchanged detailed information on the Russian violation and how we might best achieve our shared policy objectives. We support the US decision to suspend its participation in the INF Treaty and start the treaty’s formal withdrawal process. A situation where the US was respecting INF Treaty and Russia was not, was not sustainable.”

The US withdrawal from the INF treaty was discussed in the House of Lords with Lord Ahmed of Wimbledon giving a statement on behalf of the government.

View the full transcript of the discussion. 

Fabian Hamilton MP, Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament was granted an urgent question in the House of Commons on Monday 4th February to “ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to make a statement on the intermediate-range nuclear forces treaty.”

Full transcript of the debate is available here.