Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Soley (Labour). It was answered by Baroness Warsi (Conservative) on Wednesday, 18 June 2014.

Russia: Arms

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the risk of an arms race between Russia and the West.

Answer: My Lords, we and our allies monitor developments closely. Russia and the West have reduced defence spending substantially since the Cold War. Russia is now increasing its military capabilities, although it is unclear whether it will be able to sustain its plans. There is certainly a need not to allow western defence spending to be reduced too far. At present we assess the likelihood of an arms race between Russia and the West to be small.

Secondary information