On 22 October 1981, the Secretary-General of Western European Union (WEU) circulates the reply by the WEU Council to Assembly Recommendation 367 on talks on long-range theatre nuclear force reductions in Europe. The WEU Council welcomes the intention by the United States and the Soviet Union to start TNF (Theatre Nuclear Forces) negotiations. It emphasises that these negotiations should take place in the wider framework of the SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) process and that they should proceed step by step, the first step focusing on the most immediate threat, namely the Soviet deployment of SS-20 missiles. The Council also announces its continued support for the French proposal to organise a conference on disarmament in Europe and welcomes the recent publication by the United States of an analysis on the Soviet nuclear threat.