NATO NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL: SECRETARY GENERAL JOSEPH LUNS IN CLOSING PRESS CONFERENCE, NATO HEADQUARTERS, BRUSSELS, DECEMBER 1981 [Allocated Title]

Closing press conference of the North Atlantic Council session, chaired by Secretary General Joseph Luns in the NATO Headquarters Press Theatre. Joseph Luns reads Council's statement and answers the questions of the members of the press.

Joseph Luns briefs the press, while waiting for the communique to be printed, about the three documents they are about to make public. One of them is a Ministerial declaration on intermediate range and arms control signed by 14 nations. He describes the Council meeting as a long session and a very restricted one, in which ministers showed a cautious optimism about the global situation. The world is more stable than a year ago, due to the negotiations to push back nuclear weapons. He goes on underlining the countries that have increased their Defence effort, particularly Norway, by 4%, but also Italy, Portugal, Germany, United Kingdom and the United States. There was a very important step towards the welcoming of Spain - though still not a member, the protocol of accession has been signed. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, in his statement to the Council, was applauded. Joseph Luns reads a paragraph of the communique regarding the SALT negotiations which now are called START. "The US-Soviet Strategic Arms Reductions Talks", which the United States has proposed begin as early as possible in 1982, will constitute an important new step towards reinforcing security and peace. These negotiations should lead to significant reductions in the US and Soviet strategic arsenals. The Allies also welcomed negotiations on US and Soviet intermediate range nuclear forces, which opened in Geneva, 30 November 1981. These negotiations opened at the initiative of the United States, expressing the hope that they would lead to a positive result in the START framework. The alliance looks forward to continued close consultations with the United States in the Council on these matters. US Ambassador Paul Nitze is praised for his briefing on the negotiations in Geneva with the Soviet Union and the Secretary General is thankful for his efforts in coming to NATO. Joseph Luns reads the following paragraph of the communique, to answer a question on extended NATO area of conflict, such as Libya: "International stability is vital to Western interests. Political settlements must be found to crises or conflicts. Genuine non-alignment can make an important contribution towards these goals. The Allies will continue to consult among themselves and work together with others to encourage the maintenance of stability and the independence of sovereign nations, to which they attach great importance, and to reduce the risk of crisis in the Third World. They will take the necessary political and economic measures to support efforts by such nations to defend their sovereignty and territorial integrity and to enhance stability worldwide. In their consultations, Allies will seek to identify common objectives, taking full account of the political, economic and military situation in the area concerned. Those Allies in a position to do so will be ready to take steps outside the Treaty Area to deter aggression and to respond to requests by sovereign nations for help in resisting threats to their security or independence." A journalist asks Joseph Luns what he has to say to European Peace Movements, to which he reads another paragraph of the communique as an answer: "The role of nuclear weapons has attracted great attention in the Western political debate, in particular among the younger generation. The fact is, however, that nuclear weapons have thus far been an essential element in preventing war, in the face of the Warsaw Pact's massive conventional and nuclear forces. The Alliance has to maintain a nuclear capability, since disarmament has not reached a satisfactory level. The Alliance could not reduce the risk of war by divesting itself unilaterally of nuclear weapons. The Soviet Union has greatly increased its forces throughout the period of détente. Unilateral nuclear disarmament would give the Soviet Union, which could not be relied upon to follow suit, an overwhelming military advantage. The only sure way of preventing intimidation and war is to ensure a stable balance of forces between East and West. This should be done at the lowest possible level." Other topics the journalists ask about are: the meaning behind NATO's re-affirmation of the Two Track decision on Theatre Nuclear Forces (TNF) and the role of the Dutch Government, given its problems with implementation, and how the entry of Spain will affect the Southern Command.

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