The Government is studying the proposals put forward by President Bush last week for a missile defence programme. These proposals are of a general nature, and the US administration has yet not made clear its thinking on a number of specific aspects.
I agree with others that the declared intention of the US administration to reduce further its stockpile of nuclear war-heads is, in itself, positive. The previous administration accepted last year, at the United Nations General Assembly, the objective put forward by Ireland, together with its partners in the New Agenda Coalition of the total elimination of nuclear weapons. Any genuine progress in this direction would of course be a constructive step.
However, the Government is very concerned at some of the implications of the latest US proposals, notably for the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, concluded in 1972. This treaty, signed by the United States and the Soviet Union, has served the world well as a cornerstone of nuclear arms reductions and as a central element in diminishing the risk of the outbreak of nuclear war. In this regard, it can be seen as a vital framework until such time as nuclear weapons have been eliminated.