Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 261 › Conversation 261-031
Nixon & Dobrynin on Diplomacy and Soviet-American Relations
Thursday, July 1, 1971 · 3:14 PM–3:16 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building
AI Summary
President Nixon met briefly with Soviet Ambassador Anatoliy Dobrynin to acknowledge and express appreciation for a thoughtful message sent by the ambassador. The exchange served primarily as a diplomatic courtesy, confirming the receipt of the wire and emphasizing the positive personal sentiments shared by Dobrynin and his family. No substantive policy negotiations or strategic directives were recorded during this brief encounter.
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 112.0 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 112.0 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 112.0 MB ·Download MP3 (part 4) · 27.1 MB
This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 01:36:49 into the tape and ends around 01:39:26.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
Download transcript (.txt) ·JSON data · Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.
NARA Description
On July 1, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Anatoliy F. Dobrynin met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:14 pm to 3:16 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 261-031 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 261-31 Date: July 1, 1971 Time: 3:14 pm - 3:16 pm Location: Executive Office Building The President talked with Anatoliy F. Dobrynin [See Conversation No. 6-79]
Also recorded on July 1, 1971
- 006-078 2:11 PM · 26 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 2:11 pm.
- 006-079 3:14 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Anatoliy F. Dobrynin talked on the telephone from 3:14 pm to 3:16 pm.
- 261-032 3:17 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 3:17 pm.
- 261-033 3:18 PM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:18 pm to 3:22 pm.
- 261-034 3:22 PM · 21 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 3:22 pm and 3:55 pm.
- 261-035 3:55 PM · 1 hr 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, Alexander P. Butterfield, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, unknown person(s), and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:55 pm to 4:25 pm.
- 006-080 4:09 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 4:09 pm to 4:11 pm.
- 006-081 4:11 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:11 pm and 5:09 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 261-031, July 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/261-031 (accessed September 18, 2026).