Office of the Historian

105. Transcript of Telephone Conversation Between Secretary of State Kissinger and the Soviet Ambassador (Dobrynin)1

October 6, 1973, 9:35 a.m.

K: I have just talked to the President2 and he asked me to make the following suggestion to you. There will be undoubtedly a Security Council meeting today don’t you think?

D: I think so. Because the situation is very dangerous.

K: We would be prepared to take a neutral position in the Council as to the facts of the matter asking that we don’t know who started what but we are in favor of status quo ante.

D: Your suggestion is restoration of ceasefire line.

K: Restoration of ceasefire line and restoration of ceasefiring and then have a fact finding commission. We are prepared to proceed with the discussions which Gromyko and I and the President agreed on on the settlement.

D: Outside the SC.

K: Yes.

D: Just between us.

K: Right. We are willing to look at the whole situation. Now if you take the position that you will have to defend the Arabs we will be forced into the position of defending what we believe—of making clear we believed the Arabs launched the attack3 and we are then in a hell of a mess. It will affect a lot of our relationships.

D: I understand.

K: Moscow’s constructive approach would be if we both took the position of it’s not the time to discuss who started what. Let’s get the [Page 309] fighting stopped and restore the ceasefire line and call on all parties to observe the ceasefire line.

D: I think it is a constructive way to start.

K: We will hold up anything until we hear from you. Can you get us a quick answer?

D: If I could use the hot line. I have my own ticker. It is open.

K: This is no secret.

D: I will use the ticker.

K: Do it on the ticker. I would say people listening in on your end are under better control than on ours. I think it’s all right. You go ahead.

D: O.k.

  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, Kissinger Telephone Conversations, Transcripts (Telcons), Chronological File, Box 22. No classification marking. Kissinger was in New York; Dobrynin was in Washington.↩
  2. See Document 104.↩
  3. During a 9:20 a.m. telephone conversation, Kissinger discussed the question of an Israeli attack with Dobrynin: “K: Our information is that the Egyptians and Syrians have attacked all along their fronts and also . . . D: Is it the canal? K: The canal and the Golan Heights. Zayyat is claiming the Israelis launched a naval attack on some isolated spot in the Gulf of Suez and that triggered the whole thing.” Kissinger went on to say that an Israeli attack on the Gulf of Suez was “baloney.” He indicated that the United States was using “maximum influence with the Israelis to show restraint.” (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, Kissinger Telephone Conversations, Transcripts (Telcons), Chronological File, Box 22)↩