52. Editorial Note
On July 1, 1985, Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin met with Secretary of State George Shultz and provided him with a written statement that reads in part: “Mikhail S. Gorbachev is agreeable to having his meeting with President Ronald Reagan take place in Geneva. As to the dates, taking into account the considerations presented by us and by the American side, it is being proposed that the meeting be held on November 19–20, 1985.” (Reagan Library, George Shultz Papers, Secretary’s Meetings with the President (07/03/1985)) Shultz explained in his memoir that during their July 1 meeting, he and Dobrynin agreed to make announcements on the Summit. (Shultz, Turmoil and Triumph, page 571) In a July 2 memorandum to Shultz, sent to prepare the Secretary for a July 3 meeting with President Ronald Reagan at 9:30 a.m. and the Summit press conference at 1:30 p.m., Acting Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs John Kelly reiterated that the United States wanted to make “progress” on the four-part agenda: arms control, regional issues, humanitarian concerns, and bilateral cooperation. Kelly concluded: “The President approaches this meeting with Mr. Gorbachev with a constructive and serious intent. The United States is a strong and vigorous nation, fully capable of protecting its interests whenever and wherever required. But the President would like to engage the Soviet leadership in a process of finding concrete solutions to the host of problems that confront us. He looks forward to his meeting with Mr. Gorbachev with a sense of the difficulties we face, but also with a willingness to achieve greater understanding, mutual restraint, and where possible, some actual [Page 190] agreement.” (Reagan Library, George Shultz Papers, Secretary’s Meetings with the President (07/03/1985))
On July 3, Shultz held a press conference at the Old Executive Office Building announcing the agreement for a meeting between Reagan and Gorbachev in Geneva. (Department of State Bulletin, August 1985, pages 29–33)