July–December 1978
159. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Carter Library, Plains File, President’s Personal Foreign Affairs File, Box 5, USSR (General), 9/77–12/80. Secret. The meeting took place in the White House. Carter initialed the first page of the memorandum. Brzezinski recalled in his memoirs that he and Dobrynin “had prolonged exchanges” on the Woodbridge Two. “At times the arguments were quite heated, especially when I insisted that the execution of the Soviet citizen would jeopardize any possible deal on the Soviet spies. Dobrynin kept insisting that this matter was none of my business, but I pointed out to him that the Soviets themselves had made it our business by generating a letter from the prisoner addressed directly to Carter, pleading for assistance. That step had been taken presumably to embarrass Carter, but it enabled me to argue that the Soviets had thereby made it also our concern.” (Power and Principle, pp. 338–339)
160. Backchannel Message From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Brzezinski) to the Ambassador to the Soviet Union (Toon)
Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Office, Outside the System File, Box 69, USSR: Brezhnev–Carter Correspondence: 1–12/78. Secret.
161. Message From President Carter to Soviet General Secretary Brezhnev
Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Office, Outside the System File, Box 47, China: Normalization with PRC: Events—Aggregate Documentation: 8–12/78. Secret; Eyes Only. In the upper right-hand corner, Carter wrote, “OK. J.”
162. Memorandum From Paul Henze of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Brzezinski)
Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Office, Outside the System File, Box 51, Chron: 12/14–31/78. Secret. Sent for information. A notation on the memorandum indicates that it was returned to Henze on December 19.
163. Memorandum of Telephone Conversation Between the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Brzezinski) and the Soviet Ambassador (Dobrynin)
Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Office, Outside the System File, Box 47, China: Normalization with PRC: Events—Aggregate Docu-mentation: 8–12/78. Top Secret. Carter wrote in the upper right-hand corner, “Good enough. J.”
164. Telegram From Secretary of State Vance to the Department of State
Source: Carter Library, Brzezinski Donated Material, Subject File, Box 38, SALT—(11/78–4/79). Secret; Cherokee; Flash; Nodis. Sent flash to the White House. Vance was in Geneva, December 21–23, to meet with Gromyko regarding SALT negotiations. Printed from a copy that indicates the original was received in the White House Situation Room.
165. Telegram From Secretary of State Vance to the Department of State
Source: Carter Library, Brzezinski Donated Material, Subject File, Box 38, SALT—(11/78–4/79). Secret; Cherokee; Flash; Nodis. Sent flash to the White House. Printed from a copy that indicates the original was received in the White House Situation Room.
166. Telegram From Secretary of State Vance to the Department of State
Source: Carter Library, Brzezinski Donated Material, Subject File, Box 38, SALT—(11/78–4/79). Secret; Cherokee; Flash; Nodis. Sent flash to the White House. Printed from a copy that indicates the original was received in the White House Situation Room.
167. Message From Secretary of State Vance to President Carter
Source: Carter Library, Brzezinski Donated Material, Subject File, Box 38, SALT—(11/78–4/79). Secret; Cherokee; Nodis. Sent from the White House Situation Room. The telgram is a retransmittal of Secto 15029 from Moscow, December 24. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P840153–1453) Carter wrote in the upper right-hand corner, “They seem not to want an agreement at this time. J.” No other record of Vance’s December 23 meeting with Gromyko was found.
168. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Brzezinski) to President Carter
Source: Carter Library, Plains File, President’s Personal Foreign Affairs File, Box 4, USSR (Brezhnev Drafts/Letters), 4/77–9/80. Secret; Eyes Only. Carter wrote in the memorandum’s upper right-hand corner, “Pers[onal] File. J.” Carter, in his memoirs, quoted his diary entry written after receiving this letter from Brezhnev: “On the 27th I got a very discouraging letter from Brezhnev, showing that they [the Soviets] are almost paranoid about the People’s Republic of China and demanding that I prevent our Western allies from selling any defensive weapons to the PRC. We’ll delay for a few days before giving him an answer. . . . Had an excellent meeting with Cy Vance. He spent the night with us at Camp David, and I went over a broad gamut of foreign affairs questions with him. He and I agree that the most significant responsibility we have is to balance our new friendship with the PRC and our continued improvement of relations with the Soviet Union. . . . As we moved toward a most-favored-nation relationship with the PRC, we must face the need to do the same thing with the Soviet Union.” Ellipses in the original. (Keeping Faith, p. 201)