Office of the Historian

125. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Poindexter) to President Reagan1

Washington, January 13, 1986

SUBJECT

  • Instructions for Round IV—Nuclear and Space Talks (NST)

Our negotiators will be returning to Geneva this weekend to begin Round IV of the talks on January 16 covering START, INF and Defense and Space. Recall that just before your summit and at the end of Round III, the U.S. provided a detailed counter-proposal involving the principle of 50 percent reductions. The Soviet delegation has not had the chance to really address our proposals yet. Our task during this upcoming round will be to focus on the areas where we have the most common ground (START and INF reductions) and press the Soviets for an early, constructive response to our new proposals.

With regard to Defense and Space we will concentrate on the offense/defense relationship and explain the nature of SDI and your open laboratories initiative. The instructions to this delegation contain the main points which you have used personally with General Secretary Gorbachev on SDI. These have been drawn from both the dialogue in Geneva and your subsequent letters and are provided for the delegations’ information at Tab E.2

The SACG has met on the individual instruction cables at Tabs B through E,3 and there are no outstanding issues. I believe it is appropriate for you to issue an NSDD (Tab A)4 to further emphasize your involvement and desires for Round IV of the negotiations.

Recommendation

OK No
That you sign the draft NSDD at Tab A approving the instructions for Round IV of the Nuclear and Space Talks.5
  1. Source: National Security Council, National Security Council Institutional Files, Box SR 092, NSDD 206. Secret. Sent for action. Prepared by Wright. Reagan wrote his initials in the upper right-hand corner of the memorandum.↩
  2. Attached but not printed, at Tab E, are the draft DST Instructions.↩
  3. Attached but not printed, at Tabs B, C, and D, are draft NST, START, and INF Instructions.↩
  4. Printed below as Document 126.↩
  5. Reagan initialed his approval.↩