145. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the Soviet Union1
237880. Subject: Secretary’s Meeting With Dobrynin, 19 September.
1. The Secretary met Dobrynin 19 September and covered the following points:
2. Climate in Moscow: Reporting on his stay in the Soviet Union, Dobrynin said Soviets were hopeful that US-Soviet relations could now begin to improve, and that it might be possible to wrap up SALT during Gromyko’s present visit. Secretary said we shared this hope.
3. Middle East: Secretary summarized the developments at Camp David, and his trip plans.2 He added the hope that this was a time for scaled-down rhetoric. Dobrynin replied that given the Soviet view that Sadat had split the Arab camp, that the Geneva Conference and the joint US-Soviet Declaration were “nowhere,” and that the only reference to the Soviet Union had been the President’s mention of “hostile powers,” we could scarcely expect the Soviet Union to applaud. But he said Gromyko would wish to discuss the Middle East in detail with the Secretary.
4. Meetings with Gromyko: We tentatively worked out plans for the Secretary’s meeting with Gromyko in New York Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning.3 In consultation with the White House, we also explored the possibility of Gromyko meeting with the President Saturday morning, 30 September. Dobrynin subsequently informed us that he had confirmed these dates with Gromyko.
- Source: Department of State, Office of the Secretariat Staff, Special Adviser to the Secretary (S/MS) on Soviet Affairs Marshall Shulman—Jan 21, 77–Jan 19, 81, Lot 81D109, Box 3, CV–Dobrynin, 9/19/78. Secret; Cherokee; Immediate; Nodis. Drafted by Shulman; cleared by Tarnoff; approved by Shulman.↩
- Vance traveled to Jordan, September 20–21; Saudi Arabia, September 21–24; and Syria, September 24, to discuss the Camp David Accords and other Middle East issues with the leaders of each of those countries.↩
- September 27 and 28.↩