Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume XXXIII, SALT II, 1972–1980

107. Memorandum From the Counselor of the Department of State (Sonnenfeldt) and Jan Lodal of the National Security Council Staff to Secretary of State Kissinger¹

Washington, September 20, 1975.

SUBJECT

• SALT: U.S. Position

Attached is a note which you may wish to pass to Gromyko in New York. The note conveys the essence of the position you outlined on September 19 after the conclusion of the first SALT session with Gromyko.² That position is:

—2500 kilometer range limit on cruise missiles on heavy bombers, with a ban on development, testing, and deployment above that range.

—No more than 300 heavy bombers to be equipped with cruise missiles above 600 kilometer range.

—A separate limit of 275 marginally strategic systems for each side:

—For the US, FB–111s and SLCMs with ranges between 600 and 2000 kilometers

—For the Soviets, Backfire aircraft.

—Sea-based cruise missiles above 2000 kilometer range would be banned.

1. Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Kissinger–Scowcroft West Wing Office Files, Box 21, SALT, Chronological File. Top Secret; Sensitive.
2. See footnote 2, Document 106. The note is printed as Document 108. Kissinger and Gromyko also met on September 21, 9:30–11:30 p.m., at the Soviet UN Mission in New York. The memorandum of conversation is Document 196 in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, Vol. XVI, Soviet Union, August 1974–December 1976.