Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 594 › Conversation 594-006

Nixon & Butterfield on Soviet Union and China policy

Monday, October 18, 1971 · 12:35 PM–12:37 PM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation594-006 on Tape 594 (tape position 02:16:30–02:17:01)StartMonday, October 18, 1971 at 12:35 PMEndMonday, October 18, 1971 at 12:37 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 594-006 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield discussed the strategic nuances of potential upcoming summitry and international diplomatic relations. Nixon emphasized his desire to visit the Soviet Union, citing the positive reception of his China policy by Russian media as a catalyst for potential progress. The conversation centered on leveraging this momentum to address key global issues, specifically European security, SALT negotiations, and force reduction in the Middle East.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.9 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 82.6 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 02:16:30 into the tape and ends around 02:17:01.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

2:16:30But if we can move on to some of the other areas, and salt, and of course, in terms of European security, that's something they want.
2:16:36The reason I would like to do it is I think my first place idea would be to go to the
2:16:41Secondly, the response to the things I've said in this country, particularly vis-a-vis China, have been very well-received in Russia.
2:16:50They've given tremendous coverage.
2:16:51So I think I'm generally, you know, one of the guys that there is things that I think we can accomplish there, and things that I'm particularly interested in the countries in the future, about force reduction in the Middle East.

NARA Description

On October 18, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:35 pm and 12:37 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 594-006 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 594-6

Date: October 18, 1971
Time: Unknown between 12:35 pm and 12:37 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.

     The President's schedule

The President and Butterfield left at an unknown time before 12:37 pm.

Also recorded on October 18, 1971

  • 594-005 12:01 PM · 34 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William P. Rogers, Robert H. Finch, White House photographer, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:01 pm to 12:35 pm.
  • 594-007 12:37 PM · 8 min — George T. Bell, Thomas G. Walters, Mrs. Thomas G. Walters, Clarence M. Tarr, Mrs. Clarence M. Tarr, Arthur L. Sparks, Mrs. Arthur L. Sparks, Vincent G. Walkendifer, Mrs. Vincent G. Walkendifer, Gertrude G. Davis, Carleton J. Chace, James W. Stone, Mrs. James W. Stone, Ted R. Gardner, Mrs. Ted R. Gardner, Col. Glenn R. Johnson, F. E. O'Connor, Luther L. Miller, Joe G. Attebery, Mrs. Joe G. Attebery, Ed W. Meadows, Mrs. Ed W. Meadows, Ray Hillyard, Charles J. Turrisi, Mrs. Charles J. Turrisi, Ben W. Graybill, David M. Magee, Chris J. O'Neill, Judith E. Park, and Katherine G. Slade met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:37 pm to 12:44 pm.
  • 594-008 12:44 PM · 55 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:44 pm and 12:46 pm.
  • 594-009 12:44 PM · 57 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:44 pm and 12:46 pm.
  • 594-010 12:46 PM · 26 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:46 pm to 1:15 pm.
  • 595-001 12:46 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:46 pm to 1:15 pm.
  • 595-002 1:15 PM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:15 pm to 1:29 pm.
  • 595-003 1:29 PM · 44 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:29 pm and 2:22 pm.

All 46 conversations from October 18, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 594-006, October 18, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/594-006 (accessed October 14, 2026).