Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 725 › Conversation 725-025

Nixon & Kissinger on Foreign policy and National security

Tuesday, May 16, 1972 · 10:52 AM–10:55 AM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation725-025 onTape 725 (tape position 02:58:44–02:59:58)StartTuesday, May 16, 1972 at 10:52 AMEndTuesday, May 16, 1972 at 10:55 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 725-025 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger met to discuss urgent matters of foreign policy and national security strategy during a critical period of the Vietnam War and ahead of the upcoming Moscow summit. The brief discussion focused on evaluating international developments and refining the administration's diplomatic maneuvers. This exchange highlights the close coordination between the President and his National Security Advisor regarding sensitive global engagements.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.3 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 168.1 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 100.2 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 02:58:44 into the tape and ends around 02:59:58.

Transcript (AI-generated)

No transcript is available yet for this conversation. The recording may contain no audible speech, or it may not have been processed.

NARA Description

On May 16, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:52 am and 10:55 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 725-025 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 725-25

Date: May 16, 1972
Time: Unknown between 10:52 am and 10:55 am.
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.

      Meeting with President

Also recorded on May 16, 1972

  • 725-022 10:12 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:12 am and 10:23 am.
  • 725-024 10:23 AM · 32 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:23 am to 10:52 am.
  • 725-026 10:55 AM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:55 am to 11:03 am.
  • 101-009 11:03 AM — President Richard M. Nixon and Cabinet officers and staffers, including John N. Irwin, II, John B. Connally, [David] Kenneth Rush, Richard G. Kleindienst, Rogers C. B. Morton, Earl L. Butz, Peter G. Peterson, James D. Hodgson, Elliot L. Richardson, George W. Romney, John A. Volpe, George P. Shultz, Donald H. Rumsfeld, George H. W. Bush, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman, Henry A. Kissinger, Peter M. Flanigan, Clark MacGregor, Dr. Edward E. David, Jr., John A. Scali, Herbert G. Klein, Raymond K. Price, Jr., Ronald L. Ziegler, Alexander P. Butterfield, Charles W. Colson, Frederic V. Malek, Robert J. Brown, Caspar W. ("Cap") Weinberger, Ezra Solomon, and Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 11:03 am and 11:59 pm.
  • 725-039 11:03 AM · 14 min — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:03 am and 11:30 am.
  • 725-040 11:03 AM · 12 min — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:03 am and 11:30 am.
  • 725-027 11:30 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at 11:30 am.
  • 725-028 11:31 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:31 am to 11:35 am.

All 113 conversations from May 16, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 725-025, May 16, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/725-025 (accessed September 18, 2026).