271. Editorial Note
After a series of discussions, President Ronald Reagan, Secretary of State George Shultz, and the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs Robert McFarlane decided to invite Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko to the White House during the UN General Assembly session in September 1984. During a September 11 press conference, Reagan announced: “I’ve invited Soviet Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko to meet with me at the White House on September 28th, and Mr. Gromyko has accepted. I believe it’s important to use the opportunity provided by Mr. Gromyko’s presence in the United States to confer on a range of issues of international importance. One of my highest priorities is finding ways to reduce the level of arms and to improve our working relationship with the Soviet Union. I hope that my meeting with him will contribute to this goal, as our administration continues to work for a safer world.” Reagan then responded to questions from reporters. (Public Papers: Reagan, 1984, Book II, pages 1268–1271)
[Page 965]In his memoir, Shultz wrote that Gromyko’s invitation had been under discussion since August: “During the first part of August, while I was in California, hints came in that Gromyko might be looking for a chance to meet the president. A Soviet diplomat—we thought it was probably the Deputy Chief of Mission Oleg Sokolov—had told Washington correspondent John Scali that he thought Gromyko would like to be invited to meet with the president ‘this fall.’ Another Soviet diplomat in Berlin told Nelson Ledsky, one of State’s German specialists, that a traditional Gromyko trip in Washington during the UN General Assembly depended on whether he would be treated in the same way as he had been ‘before Afghanistan.’ Shortly thereafter, Sokolov passed on to my Gromyko’s ‘heartfelt gratitude’ for my letter marking his seventy-fifth birthday. Sokolov also pointed to my reference to our prospective meeting at the United Nations in New York as an important gesture.” (Shultz, Turmoil and Triumph, page 480) See Document 265.
Reagan, who had been on vacation at his ranch in California since July 28, had a meeting in Los Angeles on August 13 with Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Andreotti and Shultz. After this meeting, Shultz recalled: “I sought a little extra private time with the president and told him of these feelers from Gromyko. I reminded the president that Gromyko had not been invited to the White House since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 and that ‘we would be reinstating something without a change in Afghanistan.’ But ‘if we could get something going that would be a little more constructive, that would be helpful.’ There was no need for him to decide this right away, I said. ‘But perhaps you’d like to consider whether to invite Gromyko this fall.’ The president said he didn’t need to think about it. ‘It’s the right thing to do. Try to work it out,’ he said.” (Shultz, Turmoil and Triumph, page 480)
On August 13, Reagan “lunched with Bud & George S. & we looked at the Soviets from several directions. I approved asking Gromyko to the W.H. if he comes as he usually does to N.Y. for the U.N. General Assembly opening. I have a feeling we’ll get nowhere with arms reductions while they are suspicious of our motives as we are of theirs. I believe we need a meeting to see if we cant make them understand we have no designs on them but think they have designs on us. If we could once clear the air maybe reducing arms wouldn’t look impossible to them.” (Brinkley, ed., The Reagan Diaries, volume I, January 1981–October 1985, page 372) Following two more discussions with McFarlane and Shultz on August 29 and September 5, Reagan noted: “George S. & Bud came by. It’s just between us for now but I am going to meet with Gromyko. Sept. 28 is the day.” (Ibid., page 379)