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NATO
UK Reaffirms Commitment to CBW Counterproliferation
24 February 1999
By Thomas Neve
In the UK Parliament, during a Defence Select Committee hearing
on February 17, members asked Defence Minister George Robertson
and Foreign Office Minister Tony Lloyd about their view of
US support for new NATO missions that combat the proliferation
of Chemical and Biological Weapons.
Mr. Lloyd stated that the government supports this US initiative.
He emphasised that NATO should concentrate on "information
exchange." The UK is working hard on the BWC protocol under
the legal basis that biological and chemical weapons are illegal
under the CWC and BWC. He added that NATO is not solely responsible
for controlling the proliferation of WMD as negotiations are
under way in other international fora. There is no consensus
within NATO for such a role. Member states must act independently,
as the US and UK did in Iraq.
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