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 · 3 min
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
This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.
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Position in tape: 01:36:49 – 01:39:26
part A, 1:36:47
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]
Transcript (AI-generated)
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— 1 min 3 s with no transcribed speech —
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 · 30 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.
Related conversations
- Kissinger & Dobrynin on US-Soviet relations and Trade negotiations May 10, 1972 · 1 min
- Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Henry Kissinger and Anatoliy Dobrynin December 6, 1972 · 3 min
- Kissinger & Dobrynin on Vietnam War and Diplomatic negotiations January 25, 1972 · 8 min
- Nixon phone call with Kissinger on Vietnam War and US-Soviet Relations April 15, 1972 · 22 min
- Nixon phone call with Dobrynin on Vietnam War and DMZ December 10, 1972 · 10 min
- Nixon phone call with Haig on Leonid Brezhnev and San Clemente June 12, 1973 · 2 min
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 November 2, 2026).