Final Communiqué

The North Atlantic Alliance was born 35 years ago today. The Alliance gives expression to the determination of its members to defend together their freedom and to preserve the peace. In their common effort to uphold these ideals, the member countries have created a unique alliance of free peoples. This Alliance and the policies it pursues remain the single greatest guarantee of peace for its peoples. Its members have recognised from the start that the key to achieving their objective is the maintenance of deterrence through strength and the search for a more stable and constructive East/West relationship.

The NATO Nuclear Planning Group (NPG) held its 35th regular Ministerial meeting in Cesme, Turkey, on 3 and 4 April 1984. All NPG members attended, with Spain as an observer.

Following a comprehensive briefing on the status of nuclear forces by the United States Secretary of Defense, including a review of the strategic modernisation programme, Ministers indicated their support for the determination of the United States and the United Kingdom to maintain the deterrent capabilities of their strategic forces. They also discussed a wide range of security matters, from the trends in the balance of nuclear forces of NATO and the Warsaw Pact to the prospects for the resumption of arms control negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union on nuclear forces.

Ministers regretted that the Soviet Union had not yet agreed to a date for the resumption of the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) and that it had as yet refused to proceed with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) negotiations. For its part, and in contrast to the current Soviet position, the United States, with the full support of the Allies, has been and remains ready to resume both sets of negotiations at any time. Ministers called upon the Soviet Union to return to negotiations without preconditions and without delay They confirmed their strong support for the United States' negotiating position in START. With regard to the INF negotiations, Ministers also reiterated their full support for the United States' proposals, developed on the basis of close Allied consultations. Ministers emphasised that the United States' proposals for both START and INF offer the opportunity for equitable and verifiable agreements which respect the legitimate security interests of both sides.

The Alliance seeks to preserve peace through the maintenance of forces at the lowest level capable of supporting NATO's agreed strategy of deterrence and defence. In this context, Ministers recalled the decision they had taken recently in Montebello, Canada , which encompassed a substantial reduction in the stockpile of NATO's nuclear warheads in Europe to be carried out over a five to six year period. In the context of these reductions, Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to maintain an effective deterrent and recalled their agreement at Montebello that the delivery systems and warheads for the remaining minimum level stockpile must be survivable, responsive and effective. The sustained programme of reductions will have reduced the level of NATO's nuclear stock-pile in Europe by 2,400 weapons since 1979 - to the lowest level in over 20 years.

Ministers expressed their concern that, in contrast, the Soviet build-up is continuing relentlessly at all levels. In particular, the Soviet Union has in recent months increased the number of deployed SS-20 launchers to 378 comprising 1,134 warheads. More bases, east and west of the Ural Mountains, are under construction. The Soviet Union is also replacing older shorter-range missiles by a new generation of more accurate systems, namely the SS-21, SS-22 and SS-23, which have been under development for a number of years. In addition, there are indications that the Soviet Union, for the first time, has taken steps to deploy forward SS-12/22 missiles in the German Democratic Republic and Czechoslovakia.

Ministers noted that, in the absence of a concrete arms control agreement obviating the need for deployment, NATO had begun its Longer-Range INF (LRINF) missile deployment at the end of 1983, as was agreed in the December 1979 decision . They emphasised NATO's determination to continue the deployment of LRINF missiles as scheduled. At the same time. they repeated their willingness to reverse, halt or modify deployments - including the removal and dismantling of missiles already deployed - upon the achievement of a balanced, equitable and verifiable agreement calling for such actions.

Ministers accepted with pleasure an invitation from Mr. G. Spadolini, the Italian Minister of Defence, to hold their next meeting in Italy in Autumn 1984.

Greece expressed its views in a statement included in the minutes; Denmark reserved its position on the INF part.