253. Transcript of Telephone Conversation Between Secretary of State Kissinger and the Soviet Ambassador (Dobrynin)1
K. You really didn’t want to sleep tonight.
D. I didn’t know it myself but I was flying from Frankfurt on a plane that was going from Israel to New York. It was quite a coincidence.
K. After our call I called the Israelis and said the fighting must stop2 and I have their pledge that if the Egyptians stop firing they will in any event stop any advance now and if the Egyptians obey the ceasefire they will obey the ceasefire. I now have the impression they will stop. Let’s get it stopped. They are now in defensive position. They are not advancing. If you could get the Egyptians to give another order to stop firing—
D. The next step should be coming back to the resolution line.
K. That is the next question. All Sadat has asked us to do is stop the fighting.
D. To stop and go back where they were.
K. The first step is to get the fighting stopped.
D. There is nothing else I want.
K. Right now they will still advance as I understand it.
D. I will get to Moscow about this.
K. Then we will see about the next step.
D. All right, Henry. Good night.
October 24–November 1, 1973
- Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, Kissinger Telephone Conversations, Transcripts (Telcons), Anatoli[y] Dobrynin File, Box 28. No classification marking.↩
- Kissinger spoke with Dobrynin at 7:10 p.m. and with Dinitz at 8:30 p.m. (Ibid.) Both transcripts are printed in Kissinger, Crisis, pp. 318–321 and 322–323, respectively.↩