Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 756 › Conversation 756-019

Nixon, Dobrynin & Haig on US-Soviet relations and Egypt

Friday, July 28, 1972 · 1:45 PM–1:50 PM ET · Oval Office · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Dobrynin, Anatoliy F.; Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation756-019 on Tape 756StartFriday, July 28, 1972 at 1:45 PMEndFriday, July 28, 1972 at 1:50 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 756-019 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon, Soviet Ambassador Anatoliy Dobrynin, and Alexander Haig met to discuss logistical preparations for a forthcoming signing ceremony and to manage the diplomatic fallout from Egypt’s recent expulsion of Soviet military advisers. Nixon sought to reassure Dobrynin that the U.S. had no foreknowledge of or involvement in the Egyptian decision, emphasizing his commitment to preserving U.S.-Soviet relations ahead of the 1972 election. The President stressed his desire for transparency and requested that Dobrynin trust his personal commitment to honor existing bilateral agreements despite bureaucratic pressures.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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I wanted to tell you, I was going to make this a brief remark, too, and if you might respond for a minute, if you'd like.
Well, I'd be rather honest.
All I'm going to say is that this marks the early progress of this, because it is, and then it should be.
It's a very nice way to do it.
And if our new minister can't hold his water bowl, he is going to run out of his mind.
But he did.
It's a very nice thing to do.
And your office, I think that's it.
And you are, of course, very clear on when to think back to the awesome.
That's right.
That's what you know.
That's what you know.
That's what you know.
That's what you know.
That's what you know.
I'm going to mention the light.
Well, sorry, you don't get to say it again.
It's an MLA.
As you of course know, Henry has spoken to you about it.
I would do to have my personal commitment that we're going to work this out.
I was disturbed when Henry said there was some thought that we first had anything.
knowledge or anything to do with this?
Absolutely nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
As I said yesterday, when they asked me about it, I said, well, you know, he's not going to comment on it.
But if you're going to keep in touch with us, I think what we have to do, and it's that matter of my...
I think it was...
I think it was...
Yeah, well, I think it's important, after all, it was part of our agreement.
Exactly.
I just came to know that I won't break agreements.
I will not break anything.
I would like to, you know, I know what's going to happen.
Now, I'm thinking, in Moscow, there is a new feeling of those relationships between the U.S. and our leadership.
I really feel that what you promised, until now, you have done everything.
So that's the very point.
If there's going to be some kind of a relationship, it will be by a second much worse than maybe they might have.
I think this is the right thing to say.
I think we should know.
is that many things have a color problem you know election problem and for us at the present time i have to be very careful and be very responsible like i did i've told all of our bureaucracy here not to say anything about it because they don't know anything we don't know anything without that division down here but the other thing is that i think you should know too that
We believe that we've got to get this hammered.
The hammer will be authorized to talk in September.
We're trying to work out a symptom in there.
And we'll be prepared to move this to get the election done.
I don't want your people, your peers, I don't want them, sometimes we disagree, I don't want them ever to be in a, to have an idea that we are playing an underhanded game or something.
like that where we've agreed.
Yeah, we've agreed.
We are.
Yes, we are.
This is a video that we're making.
Absolutely.
And you should know that if I had decided to do something, I'll try to do it with you.
Well, us above the table are going to be above the table.
I think this is a good idea.
I've articulated myself.
This is simple.
The Soviet State Committee on Science and Technology, that's what we're doing.

NARA Description

On July 28, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Anatoliy F. Dobrynin, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:45 pm to 1:50 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 756-019 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 756-19

Date: July 28, 1972
Time: 1:45pm -1:50 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Anatoliy F. Dobrynin and Alexander M. Haig, Jr..

     Greetings

     Forthcoming signing ceremony
          -Agenda
               -Remarks

     Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon

     Dobrynin’s schedule
         -San Clemente
               -Beach
               -Office

     Middle East
         -[Egypt’s expulsion of Soviet military advisers]
               -Henry A. Kissinger’s conversation with Dobrynin
               -US foreknowledge
                    -Kissinger’s comment
               -The President’s press conference, July 27, 1972
               -Letter
               -Agreement [communique of general principles]
               -US-Soviet relations
               -1972 election

                -The President’s instructions to bureaucracy
                     -William P. Rogers
                -Kissinger’s schedule
                -1972 election
                -US policy
                     -Forthrightness

     Soviet State Commission on Science and Technology

The President, Dobrynin, and Haig left at 1:50 pm.

Also recorded on July 28, 1972

  • 756-016 1:10 PM · 20 sec — Stephen B. Bull, Manolo Sanchez, and United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:10 pm and 1:43 pm.
  • 756-017 1:10 PM · 45 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:10 pm and 1:43 pm.
  • 756-018 1:43 PM · 32 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:43 pm to 1:45 pm.
  • 764-002 1:50 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Dr. At the signing ceremony for the Records of Discussion, President Richard M. Nixon and Dr. Edward E. David, Jr., Anatoliy F. Dobrynin, Evgeniy A. Belov, Herman Pollack, John Granger, Nicholas Andrews, Clarence Linder, Raymond Bisplinghoff, Adm. Thomas Owen, Bodo Bartocha, Norman Neureiter, Dr. Eugene Fubini, Alan Astin, Dr. John D. Baldeschwieler, members of the press, and the White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:50 pm to 1:57 pm.
  • 756-020 1:57 PM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, Henry A. Kissinger, White House operator, and James O. Eastland met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:57 pm to 2:09 pm.
  • 028-011 2:08 PM · 41 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and James O. Eastland talked on the telephone from 2:08 pm to 2:09 pm.
  • 028-012 2:09 PM · 11 sec — The recording device engaged on an unknown date, sometime between 2:09 pm on July 28, 1972 and 4:06 pm on July 31, 1972, but the conversation appears to be blank.
  • 756-021 2:09 PM · 30 min — President Richard M. Nixon, George R. S. Baring, Sir Burke Trend, Henry A. Kissinger, White House photographer, Manolo Sanchez, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:09 pm to 2:42 pm.

All 30 conversations from July 28, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 756-019, July 28, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/756-019 (accessed October 1, 2026).