Sibiry
DRAFT
J.
URITY
SIFICATION
To:-
Top Secret.
Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted,
Unclassified.
ACY MARKING
In Confidence
Type 1 +
FROM
Sir G Arthur
Private Secretary
Telephone No. Ext.
Department
Draft discussed with No Male
Pla
DEFENCE REVIEW: NON NATO COMMITMENTS
1. In a minute of 8 August to the Prime Minister the Chancellor of the Exchequer sugests that because of the likely need for something to be said publicly before the end of September or earlier to other Ministers and the National
Executive Committee of the Labour Party about the Government's future defence spending, HMG should not delay consulting those concerned outside NATO about the proposed reductions East
of Suez and in the Mediterranean. He also suggests that the Secretary of State might find it useful to keep "the planned run down in Cyprus" as one of his objectives in negotiations with Greece and Turkey. The Secretary of State has asked for advice. He does not think we need hurry the matter for a week or so but asks when we should begin consultations.
2. Ideally we should wait until Ministers have reached firmer conclusions about future defence expenditure as a whole before we start consulta ions on reductions in the Mediterranean and non NATO
areas. This was what Ministers decided at the OPD meeting on 1 August that we should do. Indeed it is logical in view of their public position since
the beginning of the Review that decisions would
SECRET
/not