321. Memorandum for the President’s Files1
2
Washington, June 15, 1971
PARTICIPANTS:
- The President
- Ambassador Dobrynin
- Henry A. Kissinger
The meeting was arranged by Dr. Kissinger in response to the request by Ambassador
Dobrynin that he personally
deliver the message of the Soviet Government for a Five-Power nuclear
conference.
Ambassador Dobrynin opened the
conversation by handing to the President the official Soviet text and a
translation. He said, “As is obvious, the Soviet Union is asking for a
conference of nuclear powers to discuss the question of general and
complete nuclear disarmament. The place can be wherever is convenient
and the agenda is open. A preparatory meeting is acceptable. The Soviet
Government hopes that your reply will be positive. Of course,
Soviet/US talks will continue
bilaterally outside the conference as part of the SALT talks. The note is being delivered
today in Paris, London, Peking and Washington.” (Copy of note is
attached)
The President asked what preparatory work Ambassador Dobrynin had in mind. Was he thinking
of Foreign Ministers? The Ambassador said, no, they were thinking of
Foreign Ministry officials and Ambassadors. The time, place and
modalities could be handled either through diplomatic channels or
otherwise.
The President then said, “Let’s be realistic. The key to this sort of
thing is what the two major nuclear powers will do. It is a question of
leadership at the top—I don’t mean at the top of the governments, but at
the top of this group of five.”
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Ambassador Dobrynin asked, “Do you
have anything in mind, Mr. President?” The President replied, “We will
consider your proposal seriously. The way our two governments can make
the most progress is through the talks that you and Kissinger have been having. They are
completely confidential with nobody leaking. Your government has
confidence in you; Kissinger has
a special relationship with me. Apart from the cosmetics of a Five-Power
discussion, the real issue is the Two-Power relationship.”
Ambassador Dobrynin said, “Well,
how shall we do it?” The President answered, “We will make a formal
reply. Then you have a little talk with Henry Kissinger.” The Ambassador said, “What
do you think of US/Soviet relations in
general?” The President said, “We can make a breakthrough on SALT and Berlin, and then our whole
post-war relations will be on a new basis. The whole relationship can,
indeed, be on a new basis. The press last week spoke of the failure of
Berlin. You know better. We are at a point where we should make some
agreement. If we culminate one, it will have a massive effect.”
Ambassador Dobrynin said, “Are
there any other areas of discussion?” Dr. Kissinger said, “Mr. President, he is trying to lead you
into the Middle East,” and the Ambassador laughed. The President said,
“As for the Middle East, there is, of course, a fear of a US/Soviet condominium. Of course, Soviet and
U.S. interests are quite different. We both have constituents we may not
be able to control, and this makes the situation very explosive. The
Middle East is very much on our mind and, at some point, discussions
between us will be possible.”
The meeting then ended with an exchange of pleasantries.
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Attachment
Statement Prepared by the Soviet Government
undated
STATEMENT OF THE USSR
GOVERMENT
It is already for over a quarter of a century that mankind has been
free from a world war. Yet, peace still remains unstable. Military
conflicts flare up in different regions of the globe, hotbeds of
armed tensions appear in various areas, the danger of global
military confrontation still remains.
Armaments drive is one of the factors that makes a particularly
negative impact on the entire international life. It breeds an
increasing threat to peace, let alone that it consumes tremendous
material and intellectual resources that otherwise could be used for
an accelerated economic and social progress, to the benefit of
peoples. It is clear that nuclear armaments drive is fraught with
particular danger. It is the nuclear armaments drive that first of
all arouses the concern of peoples, that causes their anxiety for
their future.
Addressing this Statement to the Governments of the powers possessing
nuclear weapons the USSR Government
does not feel it necessary to make a special reference to the
exceptional destructive power of such weapons, to the lethal
consequences of their use to the sufferings and hardships that a
nuclear war, if it ever occurs, would bring to all the peoples of
the world. At the same time, the USSR Government deems it necessary to draw the
attention of the Governments of all the nuclear powers to the fact
that although the struggle for limiting nuclear arms drive has
brought about certain positive results, it has not yet become
possible to turn back the process of stockpiling
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increasingly destructive means of mass
annihilation in the arsenals of nuclear powers. Consequently, ever
more persistent efforts towards taking effective measures leading to
nuclear disarmament are in order.
The USSR Government believes that to
be the duty and responsibility of all the nuclear powers. They, and
only they, can and must work out and put into effect a practical
program of nuclear disarmament.
This task, of course, cannot be fulfilled if the efforts towards its
implementation are made only by one or some of the nuclear powers.
Joint actions of all the states possessing nuclear weapons are
needed to arrive at the prohibition and destruction.
As is known, the nuclear powers do not yet have a common approach to
the solution of the questions of nuclear disarmament and their views
on those questions differ in many respects. But this should not be
an obstacle to the nuclear powers starting to work jointly to bring
their views closer and, by joint effort to pave the way to nuclear
disarmament. That is in the interests of people, the interests of
all states, nuclear powers themselves included, since their own
safety as well will be much more securely guaranteed by the
liquidation of nuclear weapons, than by a further competition in the
nuclear arms drive.
With all these considerations in mind the Soviet Government proposes
to convene at the earliest time a conference of the five powers
possessing nuclear weapons—
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the Soviet Union, the United States of America, the People’s
Republic of China, France and Great Britain. Such a conference
should examine the questions of nuclear disarmament as a whole. As
regards an agreement that would result from the negotiations, it
could encompass both the entire complex of meats area in nuclear
disarmament and partial measures gradually leading to that goal.
Progress in nuclear disarmament would undoubtedly facilitate the
solution of the problem of general and complete disarmament, would
make a favorable impact on the entire international situation and
would contribute to the strengthening of trust in the relations
among states.
The USSR Government proposes to
begin through diplomatic channels an exchange of opinion on
questions pertaining to the time of convening the conference, the
place of holding it, its agenda as well as its procedure.
As to the view of the USSR
Government, it believes that the sooner the conference of the five
nuclear powers is convened, the better. With regard to the place of
holding the conference, its position is open. Any place convenient
to other participants is acceptable to us. The Soviet Government
would not object to the establishment of a preparatory committee for
convening the conference, if such is the common view.
The USSR Government will await with
interest the considerations that each of the nuclear powers might
have on all these questions. It expresses the hope that this
Statement will be given all the attention that the problem of
nuclear disarmament deserves, and that through joint efforts of the
nuclear powers progress will be ensured in the solution of this
problem.
