96. Memorandum of Conversation1
SUBJECT
- START
PARTICIPANTS
- Bartholomew
- Burt
- Kanter
- Timbie (notetaker)
- Karabovsky (interpreter)
- Akhromeyev
- Karpov
- Nazarkin
- Popov (interpreter)
Akhromeyev: I asked for this meeting to develop a plan for the Arms Control Working Group for tomorrow, and to hand over our [Page 566] proposals. Bartholomew: That would be useful. We are open to ideas on the schedule.
Akhromeyev: Tomorrow there will be a meeting with Ministers in the morning and then lunch. Perhaps we could meet from 2:00 until 6:00 in the afternoon. I propose we discuss SLCMs and ALCMs. Then we could report to Ministers at 6:00. There will be time later, into the night, for further work. Then on Friday2 the President is receiving the party from 10:00 to 11:00. So I propose we meet from 11:30 to 1:00 to discuss CFE and Germany. At 2:00 we would report to Ministers again. Then Friday afternoon we could address future talks on stability, and give concluding reports to Ministers. The Ministers could decide whether we had worked enough.
Bartholomew: That is a useful outline. Tomorrow from 9:00 to 12:00 we will be with the two Ministers. We may learn more from our Ministers at that time what they want from us. I agree to begin the Working Group at 2:00 on Thursday. Our proposal is to meet initially in the full Arms Control Working Group, and quickly send off teams on nuclear testing, chemical weapons, and Open Skies. We could keep START, CFE, and the non-proliferation statement in our main group. We might agree at some point to have the other three come back to report to us. We can also decide whether to make Burt and Nazarkin or Woolsey and Grinevsky go off to do some work. That would be something we could address and agree on.
As for the order of issues, we should as you suggest begin with START. As host, I will invite you to begin, and from what you have said I assume you will begin with SLCMs and ALCMs. We will want to address the central START questions in the first session tomorrow afternoon, and leave future talks to the second day. Secretary Baker will present ideas on non-circumvention in the meeting tomorrow morning.
I agree with your suggestion to address CFE Friday morning at 11:30 to 1:00. If Grinevsky and Woolsey want to address some of the issues like armor, they can do so on Thursday.
Akhromeyev: I agree with your proposals. Woolsey and Grinevsky can have their own discussions. The second day you and I will address only the major questions. Burt and Nazarkin could stay. Bartholomew: For the START discussions but not for CFE.
Akhromeyev: I would like to hand over our proposals on SLCMs and ALCMs. (Hands over two Soviet position papers.)3 These were drafted in view of the common ground reached in Malta and Moscow in February. I will be more elaborate tomorrow.
[Page 567]Bartholomew: I will give a considered response tomorrow after studying these documents. But I can already give you a preliminary reaction:
- —
- First, both diverge very substantially from the understandings reached in Moscow.
- —
- Second, both raise considerable problems.
- —
- Third, I am disappointed and concerned that we are going backwards and not forwards.
Akhromeyev: We are agreed that we will exchange views in substance tomorrow morning. On SLCMs, I did not take part in the SLCM discussions in Moscow. On ALCMs, I did take part and I don’t think there is a divergence. Tomorrow I will explain there is no divergence on ALCMs. Victor was present in the SLCM discussions and will make his explanations. Your disappointment will dissipate and go away.
Bartholomew: I cannot make a secret of my feelings—you have put a mountain in front of us.
- Source: Department of State, Office of the Under Secretary for Arms Control, International Security Affairs, Lot 01D127, 1969–1990 Subject Record of James P. Timbie, START Meetings (Bartholomew) April 1990. Secret. Drafted on April 13. The meeting took place in the T Conference Room.↩
- April 6.↩
- Not found.↩