President Nixon and Henry Kissinger met to coordinate the final arrangements and diplomatic strategy for Leonid Brezhnev’s upcoming visit to the United States. They discussed the scheduling of official events, the management of press and public relations regarding various bilateral agreements, and strategies to mitigate potential protests or political interference. Additionally, the pair touched upon ongoing domestic political pressures, specifically the impact of the Watergate hearings and their frustration with Congressional leadership.
On June 19, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:10 pm to 12:35 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 447-013 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding AidConversation No. 447-13
Date: June 19, 1973
Time: 12:10 pm - 12:35 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President met with Henry A. Kissinger.
President’s previous conversation with Leonid I. Brezhnev
-Agreements
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. March-2012)
Conversation No. 447-13 (cont’d)
-Economic relations
-George P. Shultz
-Nikolai S. Patolichev
-Transportation
-Sequoia
-Schedule
-Sequoia dinner
-Brezhnev’s view
-Patolichev, Shultz
-Camp David
-Kissinger, Andrei A. Gromyko, Andrei Aleksandrov
-William P. Rogers
-Signing of agreement
-Timing
-Press relations
-Ceremony at White House
-San Clemente
-Appearance
-Negotiations
-Allies
-Anatoliy F. Dobrynin
-Compared with Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT] agreement
signed in Moscow, 1972
-Jet lag
-Interpreters
-Brezhnev’s relationship with President
-Interactions
-Interpreters
President’s forthcoming conversation with Brezhnev
-Agenda
-Mutual and Balanced Force Reduction [MBFR], SALT closing date
-Rogers, Gromyko
-Kissinger, Dobrynin
Rogers
-Forthcoming talks on Middle East, Conference on Security and Cooperation in
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. March-2012)
Conversation No. 447-13 (cont’d)
Europe [CSCE]
-Statement length
-Gromyko
Brezhnev’s schedule
-Kissinger, Dobrynin
-Sequoia
-Shultz, Patolichev
-Camp David
-Aleksandrov
-Gromyko, Kissinger
-Ronald L. Ziegler
-Soviet counterpart [Leonid M. Zamyatin]
-Security
President’s previous conversation with Brezhnev
-Jews
-Public relations
-Possible demonstrations
-Sequoia
-Blacks
Brezhnev’s schedule
-Senators
-Capitol
-Administrative assistants
-Hubert H. Humphrey
-Response
-Briefing
-Signing of agreements
-Compared to John F. Kennedy’s administration
-Oceanography
-Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
-Transportation, agriculture, oceanography, cultural exchange
-Tax Treaty
-Shultz
-Peaceful use of nuclear energy, SALT
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. March-2012)
Conversation No. 447-13 (cont’d)
-SALT principles
-Joint Chiefs of Staff’s [JSC] reaction
-Timing of agreement
President’s previous conversation with Brezhnev
-State Dinner
-Russian proverb
-Friendship in adversity
-Kissinger’s conversation with People’s Republic of China [PRC] ambassador
[Huang Hun]
Possible visit by PRC officials to US in 1973
-Talks, August 1973
-Possible announcement
-Chou En-Lai
Head of State visits
-Previous meetings with R. G. Heath, Georges J. R. Pompidou, [Shah of Iran]
Mohammed Reza Pahlavi
-Kissinger’s experience
Brezhnev’s schedule
-Dobrynin
-Sequoia
-Photographic session
-Dinner
-Helicopter
-Camp David
-Arrangements
-SALT
-Kissinger and Dobrynin
-Rogers
-Camp David
Prevention of Nuclear War agreement
-Rogers’s views concerning North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] guidelines
-Rogers’s conversation with U. Alexis Johnson
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. March-2012)
Conversation No. 447-13 (cont’d)
-Great Britain, Germany
-Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
-Article 51 objectives
-Compared to commitments
-Rogers’s views at Hangchow
Forthcoming briefings on agreements
-Kissinger’s schedule
-SALT
-Congressional relations
-President
Brezhnev’s visit
-Possible demonstrations
-Security
-Camp David
-Sequoia
Watergate
-John W. Dean, III
-Republicans, Democrats
-Handling of funds
-Fred Thompson’s possible questioning
-White House response
-President’s activities
-President’s opponents
-Goals
-Media coverage
-Delay of hearings
-Michael J. (“Mike”) Mansfield
-Rogers compared to Haig
-Partisanship
Senate
-Scott
-President’s refusal to speak with Scott, June 18, 1973
-Vietnam
-Cease-fire agreement
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. March-2012)
Conversation No. 447-13 (cont’d)
-John C. Stennis
-Hospitalization
-Herman E. Talmadge
-Members
Brezhnev’s schedule
-Lunch
-Senate Foreign Relations Committee
-Economic meeting
-Shultz
-Sequoia
Kissinger left at 12:35 pm.This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.