190. National Security Decision Directive 209

Source: Reagan Library, George Shultz Papers, Executive Secretariat Sensitive (02/05/1986–02/06/1986); NLR–775–15–15–9–0. Confidential. Poindexter sent a copy of NSDD 209 to Bush, Shultz, Baker, Weinberger, Baldrige, Casey, Regan, Crowe, and Wick under a February 4 covering memorandum. (Ibid.)

191. Note From the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs (Palmer) to Secretary of State Shultz

Source: Reagan Library, George Shultz Papers, 4D, 1986 Soviet Union Feb. Secret; Sensitive; Summit II.

192. Talking Points Prepared in the Office of Soviet Union Affairs, Bureau of European and Canadian Affairs for Secretary of State Shultz

Source: Department of State, Ambassador Nitze’s Personal Files 1953, 1972–1989, Lot 90D397, February 1986. Secret; Sensitive; Summit II. Drafted by Burton; cleared by Palmer. Burton initialed for Palmer. Although no date appears on the memorandum, a typed note in the top margin reads: “For 7 February Meeting with President.” Brackets are in the original. According to the President’s Daily Diary, Reagan met with Shultz and Poindexter on February 7 from 2:18 to 2:55 p.m. (Reagan Library, President’s Daily Diary) A longer version of the talking points, also drafted by Burton and clearly based on Hartman’s February 4 meeting with Shevardnadze, are in the Reagan Library, George Shultz Papers, Secretary’s Meeting with the President (02/11/1986); NLR–775–18–101–1–9.

193. Telegram From the Embassy in the Federal Republic of Germany to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Foreign Policy File, Electronic Telegrams, D860370–0978. Confidential; Immediate; Exdis. Also sent for information to the White House.

194. Memorandum From Secretary of State Shultz to President Reagan

Source: Reagan Library, George Shultz Papers, 1986 Soviet Union Feb. Secret; Sensitive. Woessner sent the memorandum to Shultz under a February 11 action memorandum. A note on the covering memorandum reads: “GPS hand delivered original to Adm. Poindexter 2/12 AM.”

195. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Poindexter) to President Reagan

Source: Reagan Library, Executive Secretariat, NSC Head of State File, U.S.S.R.: General Secretary Gorbachev (8690024, 869014). Secret; Sensitive. Sent for action. Prepared by Matlock. Matlock sent Poindexter an earlier draft of the attached letter under a February 1 covering memorandum and wrote: “I have not shown this text to anyone else, since I am not certain whether you want the handwritten exchange to be subject to vetting on the staff or with other agencies.” Poindexter approved the recommendation to indicate his reaction to the letter. He also approved the recommendation to consult and clear with “Ron Lehman, Bob Linhard, Steve Sestanovich. After the Pres signs, I’ll show to Shultz & Weinberger before it goes.” (Reagan Library, Jack Matlock Files, Chronological File, 1980–1986, Matlock Chron February 1986 (1/6)) Poindexter forwarded a copy of Reagan’s handwritten letter to Shultz, Weinberger, and Casey on February 17. (Reagan Library, George Shultz Papers, 21D, 1986 Arms Control Mtg)

196. Editorial Note

197. Letter From President Reagan to Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev

Source: Reagan Library, Executive Secretariat, NSC Head of State File, U.S.S.R.: General Secretary Gorbachev (8690146, 8690267). No classification marking. In a February 22 covering note to Reagan transmitting the letter, Poindexter explained: “Attached is a letter to General Secretary Gorbachev which responds to his letter of January 14. As I told you on the telephone this morning, we would like to cable this response to Moscow tonight so Art could deliver it tomorrow before their Party Congress convenes on Tuesday.” The letter was sent via telegram 5985 to Moscow, February 23. (Ibid.) In telegram 2948 from Moscow, February 24, the Embassy reported it was hand-delivered to the MFA on February 23. (Department of State, Central Foreign Policy File, Electronic Telegrams, N860002–0489)

198. Notes of an Interview With Oleg Gordievskiy

Source: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Russian and European Analysis, Job 87T01145R: Policy & Substantive Files, Box 3, Folder 39: [file name not declassified]. Secret; [handling restriction not declassified]. Prepared by the interviewer. All brackets except those denoting text not declassified are in the original. Copies were sent [text not declassified]. In a February 24 covering memorandum [text not declassified] wrote: “1. Attached are my notes on a [text not declassified] session with Gordievskiy which occurred 1500–1600 on [text not declassified] February 1986. Because so many had gone over related matters before, I chose, in the main, to pose questions for his judgment and opinion. Significantly, he gave both his judgments and the line of reasoning or factual basis for them in most cases. 2. My uncertainty about what exactly he said on several points is indicated by [?].”

199. Letter From Secretary of State Shultz to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Poindexter)

Source: Reagan Library, Jack Matlock Files, Chronological File, 1980–1986, Matlock Chron March 1986 (3/8). Secret; Sensitive. A copy was sent to Crowe. Poindexter initialed the first page of the letter.

200. Information Memorandum From the Director of the Policy Planning Staff Staff (Rodman) to Secretary of State Shultz

Source: Department of State, S/P, Memoranda/Correspondence from the Director of the Policy Planning Staff, Lot 89D149, March 1986. Secret; Sensitive; Summit II. Drafted by VanOudenaren on February 28. A stamped notation reading “GPS” appears on the memorandum, indicating Shultz saw it. On a covering note, Shultz instructed: “Dick S—let’s develop careful Q&A on this—see esp p. 3. G.” Dick S. refers to Richard Solomon, who replaced Rodman on March 3.

201. Information Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs (Ridgway) to Secretary of State Shultz

Source: Reagan Library, George Shultz Papers, Secretary’s Meetings with the President (05/14/1986); NLR–775–18–106–1–4. Secret; Sensitive. Sent through Armacost. “MR,” presumably Max Robinson of EUR/SOV, initialed for Ridgway. Drafted on February 28 by Hillas; cleared by Sell, Parris, Palmer, Kovner (IO), Borek (L/UNA), Kozak (L), Williams (IO/UNP), and Nolan (M/OFP). Hillas initialed for all clearing officials except for Palmer. A stamped notation reading “GPS” appears on the memorandum, indicating Shultz saw it, and a typed note reads: “Roz, when are we going to let them know? GPS 3/3/86.” An unknown hand wrote immediately under this note “Friday, March 7.”

202. Memorandum From the Head of the U.S. Delegation to the Nuclear and Space Talks (Kampelman) to Secretary of State Shultz

Source: Department of State, Ambassador Nitze’s Personal Files 1953, 1972–1989, Lot 90D397, 1986. Confidential.

203. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the Soviet Union

Source: Department of State, Central Foreign Policy File, Electronic Telegrams, N860003–0301. Secret; Niact Immediate; Nodis. Drafted from text received from the White House; cleared by Ridgway, Timbie, and Andres; approved by Bova.

204. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Reagan Library, Jack Matlock Files, Chronological File, 1980–1986, Matlock Chron March 1986 (7/8). Secret; Sensitive. There is no drafting information. Brackets are in the original. The meeting took place at the Soviet Ambassador’s residence in Stockholm. Shultz was in Stockholm from March 14 to 16 to attend Palme’s funeral. In an undated briefing memorandum to Shultz, Ridgway wrote: “Your meeting with Ryzhkov will be an opportunity to take the pulse in the Kremlin in the wake of the CPSU Party Congress and of some rough sledding in the bilateral relationship. It will also enable us to give the Soviets an authoritative U.S. view of what must be done to move the agenda forward, and of how Soviet game-playing on the scheduling of a second summit has affected the process. Finally, it can help allay any concerns among the allies and the U.S. public that the U.S.-Soviet dialogue is breaking down.” (Reagan Library, Jack Matlock Files, Meetings with USSR Officials, 1983–1986, Meetings: Shultz/Ryzhkov Stockholm, March 15, 1986)

205. Memorandum From Jack Matlock of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Poindexter)

Source: Reagan Library, Jack Matlock Files, Chronological File, 1980–1986, Matlock Chron 1986 (6/8). Secret; Sensitive. Sent for action. A stamped notation on the memorandum reads: “Natl Sec Advisor has seen.”

206. Note From the Deputy Assistant Secretaries of State for European and Canadian Affairs (Palmer and Thomas) to the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs (Ridgway)

Source: Reagan Library, George Shultz Papers, 4D, 1986 Arms V Arms Control Jan–Mar. Secret; Sensitive; Summit II. A typed note on a covering memorandum reads: “Paper given to Secretary on board aircraft 3/30.” In the right-hand margin of the note, Ridgway wrote: “Mr. Secretary: If the SALT & ABM decisions go the wrong way, this scenario may be dead. But the issue is so important that we may then want to restructure it to take advantage of any Soviet fears of our moving faster than they can keep up with. It isn’t much to hope for, but I don’t see how we can let a bad decision be the last word from the US until 1989. Roz.”

207. Telegram From the Department of State to Secretary of State Shultz in Rome

Source: Department of State, Central Foreign Policy File, Electronic Telegrams, D860243–0399. Secret; Immediate. Sent for information to Moscow. Drafted by Burton; cleared by Holmes, Bova, and Talcott; approved by Parris. Shultz was in Rome and Vatican City from March 28 to 30 to meet with Prime Minister Craxi, the Pope, and other officials.

208. Letter From Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev to President Reagan

Source: Reagan Library, Executive Secretariat, NSC Head of State File, USSR: General Secretary Gorbachev (8690146, 8690267). No classification marking. Printed from an unofficial translation. The text of the letter, translated from Russian, was provided by the Soviet Embassy. On an attached note evidently intended for Poindexter, Reagan wrote in the top margin: “We must talk about a reply to this. RR.” According to an April 11 covering memorandum from Platt to Poindexter, transmitting copies of the letter in Russian and English, Dobrynin passed the letter to Shultz during their April 7 meeting; see footnote 4, Document 212. In a note to Matlock on an NSC routing slip attached to the letter, Poindexter wrote: “Jack, The President wants to answer this this week so Doby can take it back with him. You think that is ok? JP.”

209. Memorandum From Jack Matlock of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Poindexter)

Source: Reagan Library, Jack Matlock Files, Chronological File, 1980–1986, Chronological File, 1980–1986, Matlock Chron April 1986 (1/6). Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only. Sent for action.

210. Telegram From the Embassy in the Soviet Union to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Foreign Policy File, Electronic Telegrams, N860004–0191. Confidential; Immediate; Nodis.

211. Memorandum From Jack Matlock, Judyt Mandel, and John Lenczowski of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Poindexter)

Source: Reagan Library, Executive Secretariat, NSC National Security Decision Directives, NSDD 223 [Implementing the Geneva Exchange Initiative]; NLR–751–10–10–9–6. Confidential. Sent for action. Rodman, Raymond, Major, and deGraffenreid initialed their concurrence.

212. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Reagan Library, Jack Matlock Files, Chronological File, 1980–1986, Chronological File, 1980–1986, Matlock Chron April 1986 (3/6). Secret; Sensitive. There is no drafting information. The meeting took place in the Oval Office. Brackets are in the original. Reagan wrote in his diary: “The 15 min. meeting with Ambas. (now Sec. of Politburo) Dobrynin went 45 min’s. My feeling is the Summit will take place—if not in June or July—sometime after the election.” (Brinkley, ed., The Reagan Diaries, vol. II: November 1985–January 1989, p. 587)

213. Letter From President Reagan to Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev

Source: Reagan Library, Executive Secretariat, NSC Head of State File, USSR: General Secretary Gorbachev (8690146, 8690267). No classification marking. Under an undated handwritten cover note, Matlock sent Poindexter a draft of the letter, writing: “Original State draft is attached. I advise strongly against approach here. (1) It does not really answer Gorbachev’s letter (2) No need to put the President’s goals in the letter—we gave it to the Soviets in writing. (3) There should be no mention of special channel in written correspondence (except very private). (4) No need to raise new issues at this time. I believe my draft corrects these deficiencies and strikes the right tone for this particular letter. Jack.” (Reagan Library, Jack Matlock Files, Head of State Correspondence (US-USSR) April 1986 1/2) Matlock made substantial revisions to this draft. In an April 9 covering memorandum to Shultz, Nitze and Ridgway wrote: “Matlock has drafted a letter from the President to Gorbachev, for you to hand over to Dobrynin at your Friday afternoon meeting. We have revised it along the lines you suggested this afternoon and attached it for your approval. The letter does not mention the goals for the next summit which the President outlined to Dobrynin, because we gave Bessmertnykh a copy of the text during our meeting yesterday. Nor does it mention the special channel. Jack Matlock does not want to put the idea in print to avoid other members of the White house and NSC staff learning of the proposal.” (Department of State, Ambassador Nitze’s Personal Files 1953, 1972–1989, Lot 90D397, March–April 1986)

214. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Reagan Library, Stephen Sestanovich Files, U.S.-Soviet Relations: 03/25/86–04/24/86. Confidential. Sent for information. Prepared by Pugliaresi. The meeting took place in the Oval Office.

215. Intelligence Assessment Prepared in the Central Intelligence Agency

Source: Reagan Library, Jack Matlock Files, USSR Subject File, 1980–1986, USSR-Internal Politics. Confidential; [handling restriction not declassified]. Prepared in the Office of Soviet Analysis of the Directorate of Intelligence. A typed note on the first page reads: “Information available as of 15 April 1986 was used in this report.”

216. Memorandum From Secretary of State Shultz to President Reagan

Source: Reagan Library, Jack Matlock Files, Chronological File, 1980–1986, Chronological File, 1980–1986, Matlock Chron April 1986 (5/6). Secret; Sensitive. Reagan initialed at the top of the memorandum. Acting Assistant Secretary Woessner sent Shultz the memorandum under an April 15 action memorandum, requesting he sign it.

217. Note From the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs (Ridgway) to Secretary of State Shultz

Source: Reagan Library, George Shultz Papers, 4D, 1986 Soviet Union April. Secret; Sensitive.

218. National Security Decision Directive 223

Source: Reagan Library, Executive Secretariat, NSC National Security Decision Directives, NSDD 223 [Implementing the Geneva Exchange Initiative]. Confidential. A January 23 covering memorandum from the NSC Executive Secretary to the Executive Secretaries of State, Defense, Justice, Central Intelligence Agency, U.S. Information Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Immigration and Naturalization Service forwarded a draft NSDD for consideration at the “first meeting of the Interagency Group on the Geneva Exchanges Initiatives on Friday, January 24.” (Reagan Library, Executive Secretariat, NSC National Security Decision Directives, NSDD 223 [Implementing the Geneva Exchange Initiative]; NLR–751–10–9–6–1) With the work of the interagency group completed (see Document 211), on April 21 Poindexter forwarded Reagan a revised version of the NSDD, explaining: “The NSDD translates your vision of opening Soviet society through dramatically expanded people-to-people contact into broad policy guidance, recognizing the need for reciprocity and measures to deal with the security and counterintelligence implications.” (Reagan Library, Executive Secretariat, NSC National Security Decision Directives, NSDD 223 [Implementing the Geneva Exchange Initiative]; NLR–751–10–10–1–4) Reagan initialed his approval of the recommendation to sign NSDD 223.

219. Information Memorandum From the Director of the Policy Planning Staff (Solomon) to Secretary of State Shultz

Source: Department of State, S/P, Memoranda/Correspondence from the Director of the Policy Planning Staff, Lot 89D149, April 1986. Secret. Drafted by Pieczenik and Ledsky on April 23.