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Trade. This might help the Soviet Union to acquire more knowledge about market economies. In the light of recent statements by the United States Defense Secretary, Mr Dick Cheney, about reductions in defence spending, it was helpful that the meeting in Brussels had reaffirmed the need to maintain a stable security framework and to avoid unilateral action. President Reagan had successfully resisted pressure for defence cuts. If President Bush no longer stood out against them, the pressures would grow.

NFIDENTIA

The Philippines

IGN

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH SECRETARY said that the attempted in the Philippines, which began on 30 November, had been better organised than previous coups. It was now beginning to fizzle out. A ceasefire had been agreed to allow the evacuation of civilians, and negotiations on substantive points of contentio) had now begun.

Ethiopia

Previous Reference:

CC (89) 18.3

CONFI

THE FOREIGN AN'

threat of renewed

MONWEALI

ALTH SECRETARY said that there was me in Ethiopia, where over 3 million

people were at risk though more food was currently available than last time, increased fighting in the area had made it much more difficult to suppe population. The Minister for Overseas Development's statement in the House of Commons on 4 December had been well

ed. During his discussions in Paris earlier in the week, ad urged the French government to prepare a statement for Foreign Ministers to make at the European Council meeting in strasbourg on 8/9 December urging the Ethiopian Government to allow food supplies to reach those in need. Mr Bob Geldof had been touch with the Prime Minister and other senior figures ilde and outside government.

In a brief discussion, it was noted that while it was possible to supply Eritrea without needing the co-operation of the present Ethiopian government, this was not possible for Tigre which was an interior province. The Ethiopia government was unlikely to co-operate in the supply of

Tigre. The

Marxist rebels in both Tigre and Eritrea were at least as extreme as the present Ethiopian government.

te

ent

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Trident

Missile Test

THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DEFENCE reported that the States had recently held the third test launch of the missile, which had been successful.

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