Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 153 › Conversation 153-022

Nixon phone call with Kissinger on US-Soviet relations

Tuesday, November 14, 1972 · 3:11 PM–3:18 PM ET · Camp David Study Table · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation153-022 on Tape 153StartTuesday, November 14, 1972 at 3:11 PMEndTuesday, November 14, 1972 at 3:18 PMRecording deviceCamp David Study TableSourceNixon Library record for 153-022 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discuss coordinating an unofficial visit to the Soviet Union for Tricia Nixon Cox and Edward Cox, utilizing Kissinger's communication with Soviet Ambassador Anatoliy Dobrynin to facilitate arrangements. The two also confer on the administrative logistics of an upcoming press briefing at Camp David, where Ronald Ziegler will announce the resumption of Vietnam peace negotiations. Additionally, Nixon requests Kissinger’s prompt review of a forthcoming letter addressed to South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Hello?
Mr. President?
Sorry to disturb you, but Dobrynin is leaving at 3.30.
And I raised this suggestion of Patricia and her son-in-law.
There won't be an official delegation from us for his anniversary.
But he said that if you wanted to, he would be very glad to raise...
the possibility of a visit for them on an unofficial basis with Brezhnev when he's going there?
If they'd be interested in going and he's certain that they'd be very well received?
Well, we don't want to put it on the basis of a sort of a state kind of a thing.
Oh, no, it wouldn't be unofficial.
But you might just tell him that their Kennedy plans are sometime in December to be in
four or five European capitals, and they thought they might like to go to, perhaps, Moscow and Leningrad.
And we don't want anything—we don't want them to feel any obligations and the rest, but we just thought I'd put it sort of low-key that they were going to make the trip and that they could pay their respects or something of that sort, put it on that basis.
How does that sound to you?
Sounds very good.
And I have the impression that they are anxious to do that.
Sure.
Good.
Good.
But he thought it would be best if he could talk it over personally with Breschner so that it is... Oh, sure, sure.
Put it on the basis that we don't want anything official.
We just want to inform him as a matter of courtesy that they might come and actually they...
I'm not asking that they lay on anything special, but that we'll let them know the dates and so forth.
because they couldn't travel over there without their own knowing anyway.
Right.
Would they be alone or would they be having—because they'd have some secret service?
They're just alone, but very minimal secret service.
They don't need much.
They'd be traveling commercial airlines, too.
Right.
And they'd just be traveling commercially and staying there.
They probably would stay in the embassy.
I'm sure they'll do anything there.
Yeah.
But that'll be fine.
That'll be fine.
looking at this letter to you at the present time.
Right.
But if I could have you used by 5.30 or 6.
All right.
And we have to get it out.
Fine, fine.
To catch the deadline of it.
We'll get that off.
Now, the other thing is that I think that I told Bob that I want Ziegler up here to do the announcement of the Friday
So I think that'll be much better than for him to do it down there where it's sort of by remote control.
And so it's possible that you might like to either come up Friday morning or come up Thursday night and Ziegler goes out.
And I'm going to have him up so that he can go out.
We have set up a trailer, a big trailer,
out here anyway for a briefing room for the press.
So Ziegler can go out and they've got telephones and everything.
We are building this as sort of an office now so people when I come here I can work and they won't feel I'm on vacation.
So that's what we're doing.
I think the idea of having Ziegler make the announcement is right.
But he does it from here, which also has a certain aura, too, from Camp David.
Well, then I'll come either Thursday night or Friday morning.
You can work it out, you know, because Ziegler will not brief till 11 o'clock at any minute.
Right, right.
Okay.
And then we can play, and I'll talk to you then.
Right, right.
Right.
Okay, nothing else, no?
No, nothing.
Bye, bye.
Nothing else.

NARA Description

On November 14, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at Camp David from 3:11 pm to 3:18 pm. The Camp David Study Table taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 153-022 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 153-22

Date: November 14, 1972
Time: 3:11 pm - 3:18 pm
Location: Camp David Study Table

The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.

[See Conversation No. 224-28]

       US-Soviet Union Relations
           -Anatoliy F.Dobrynin
                  -Schedule
           -Possible visit by Tricia Nixon Cox and [Edward R. F. Cox]
                  -Kissinger’s conversation with Dobrynin
                        -Absence of official US delegation
                        -Unofficial Visit
                              -Leonid I. Brezhnev
                        -Plans
                              -Timing
                              -European capitals
                              -Moscow, Leningrad
                        -Dobrynin’s forthcoming conversation with Brezhnev
                        -Dates
                        -Secret Service Coverage
                        -Transportation
                              -Commercial airlines
                        -Accommodations
                              -US embassy

       Vietnam Negotiations
            -The President’s forthcoming letter to Nguyen Van Thieu
            -The President's review
                                             -28-

                  NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                          Conversation No. 153-22 (cont’d)

                 -Timing
            -[Resumption in Paris on November 20, 1972]
                 -Announcement
                       -H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
                       -Ronald L. Ziegler at Camp David
                             -Kissinger's presence
                       -Briefing room
                             -Trailer
                             -Telephones
                       -Kissinger's presence
                       -Time of briefing

Also recorded on November 14, 1972

  • 153-021 3:08 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 3:11 pm.
  • 224-027 3:08 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John V. Brennan met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 3:11 pm.
  • 224-030 3:08 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 3:11 pm.
  • 224-031 3:08 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 3:11 pm.
  • 224-028 3:11 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 3:11 pm to 3:18 pm.
  • 153-023 3:18 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 3:18 pm and 3:21 pm.
  • 153-024 3:21 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone at Camp David from 3:21 pm to 3:23 pm.
  • 224-029 3:21 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 3:21 pm to 3:23 pm.

All 56 conversations from November 14, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 153-022, November 14, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/153-022 (accessed October 9, 2026).