Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 4 › Conversation 004-003

Nixon phone call with Kissinger on SALT and ABM Treaty

Tuesday, June 1, 1971 · 6:28 PM–6:30 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation004-003 on Tape 4 (tape position 00:07:00–00:09:26)StartTuesday, June 1, 1971 at 6:28 PMEndTuesday, June 1, 1971 at 6:30 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 004-003 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger coordinate the public messaging strategy regarding the origins of the May 20th Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) announcement. They resolve to describe the diplomatic process as an exchange initiated by a January 9th message to Soviet leaders that successfully broke the negotiation deadlock. The two finalize the language used to characterize the agreement to prioritize antiballistic missile (ABM) defenses while pursuing offensive limitations, agreeing to defer technical specifics to future background briefings.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yeah.
Dr. Kissinger, Mr. President.
Yeah.
Hello.
Mr. President.
Yeah, Henry, what is the on-the-salt thing?
I was wondering about what precisely should be said.
I think I should indicate that I probably should use the date January 8th.
9th is actually the correct date.
But what do we what do we put out if we put that date out?
Yeah in all the corrected versions.
Yeah all right on January 9th I sent a message to the Soviet leaders.
Fine right and what do I say the message such that
I wouldn't go into any greater detail, which led to the...
Which led to the announcement on May 20th.
Well, that will... say which led to an exchange which produced the announcement.
I would make sure that you'd get in there somewhere that the Soviets also made a major contribution in this discussion.
And we describe it as, let me just, because I think it's well to get the description again, what can we say in the simplest terms?
Well, a communication with my ideas of how to break the deadlock.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
No, as to what we agreed.
What we agreed was that there would be... That we would concentrate this year.
Well, I wouldn't emphasize we would concentrate, that we would...
That's what it says.
I know, but that we'd work on ABM and that there would be simultaneously some agreement on offensive limitations.
On some agreement on offensive limitations.
Then they will ask you if the agreement on offensive limitations is going to be less formal.
Oh, that's a matter for negotiation.
I say it's a matter for negotiation, but if you wanted to expand, you could say...
The difference is that ABM covers the whole field, while offensive ones leave some matters out, and therefore...
I'm afraid to get into that.
Okay.
I don't think we better go beyond that.
Okay.
That can be done in background.
I've done that in background.
It's just a question of how much detail.
Okay, thanks.
Right.

NARA Description

On June 1, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 6:28 pm to 6:30 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 004-003 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 4-3

Date: June 1, 1971
Time: 6:28 pm - 6:30 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.

[See Conversation No. 256-23]

     Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty [SALT], Antiballistic missile [ABM] treaty
           -Message to Soviet leaders
                -Dates
                -Content
           -Backgrounders

Also recorded on June 1, 1971

  • 004-002 4:19 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 4:19 pm to 4:21 pm.
  • 256-022 6:16 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:16 pm to 6:17 pm.
  • 004-004 6:28 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:28 pm and 8:30 pm.
  • 256-023 6:28 PM · 43 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:28 pm to 6:30 pm.
  • 256-024 6:28 PM · 44 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:28 pm and 8:30 pm.
  • 256-025 6:28 PM · 50 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:28 pm and 7:35 pm.
  • 256-026 6:28 PM · 49 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:28 pm and 7:35 pm.
  • 256-027 6:28 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:28 pm and 7:35 pm.

All 34 conversations from June 1, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 004-003, June 1, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/004-003 (accessed October 10, 2026).