Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 945 › Conversation 945-004

Nixon, Kissinger & Sanchez on Leonid Brezhnev and US-USSR relations

Tuesday, June 19, 1973 · 11:02 AM–11:04 AM ET · Oval Office · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Sanchez, Manolo; Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation945-004 on Tape 945StartTuesday, June 19, 1973 at 11:02 AMEndTuesday, June 19, 1973 at 11:04 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 945-004 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discuss logistics and planning for the upcoming visit of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, specifically focusing on the itinerary for Camp David and the presidential yacht, the Sequoia. Kissinger updates the President on the Soviet Union's attempt to offer a non-aggression treaty to China, noting that the Chinese rejected the overture due to their ongoing relationship with the United States. The participants resolve to maintain flexibility regarding the Brezhnev schedule while ensuring the Soviet leader's security concerns are addressed.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hey, uh, sorry, my, my question is, the issue is, um, um, about changing the schedule of the program, I think, and I talked to Dave, you see, that you should, quote, be to the side, say the schedule is now, that it's tough to change it so many hours.

Experts coming to the field might need it.

I went to the foot of my feet.

Uh, and we don't want to have it up there and save it.

But I believe in my people.

We can talk after we can't save it after we take our boat, right?

Yeah, that you could do.

I also saw the Chinese, uh, just, uh, uh,

The Russians, just before they left, offered them a non-aggression treaty, saying they were going to make a treaty with us.

Offered them a non-aggression treaty to show us the sort of game the Russians are playing.

The Chinese, luckily, we had kept the Chinese well informed of what we were doing, so they didn't hear it from the Russians.

The Chinese served out the non-aggression treaty, saying, we are already allies, and it would derogate from the alliance.

They were despised.

But it shows that, you know, we want to get back to...

But don't, no, you don't have to do anything.

Unless...

Unless... We have from the Secret Service level...

General Artona, but they never wanted him to go on the boat to begin with.

Or should we stay on the boat?

I don't see the damn fuck going on that boat.

I just... let him take the initiative and let him be...

I'd certainly not go up to Kandahar to say, I don't know, you'll be out of action for 48 hours.

All right, all right, all right.

No, we have to take him out and beat him four o'clock.

That's it.

And I don't...

You can yield on the sequoia and it'll add a little color to it and it'll be whiter.

That can be.

Well, he...

Yeah, it's partly that he may be tired.

And it's also his secret service not wanting him in the Sequoia.

The main advantage of the Sequoia is it's a different kind of story.

And he'll be up there anyway for another day and a half.

And also it would avoid this idea that he's so totally selfish that he doesn't get anywhere.

Well, God, if you didn't work it out, you'd bring that back to me.

Thank you.

NARA Description

On June 19, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:02 am to 11:04 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 945-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 945-4

Date: June 19, 1973
Time: 11:02 am - 11:04 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Manolo Sanchez.

      Delivery

Henry A. Kissinger entered at 11:02 am.

Sanchez left at an unknown time before 11:04 am.

      Leonid I. Brezhnev’s visit
           -Agenda
                  -Kissinger’s conversation with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
                  -President’s speech [?]
                  -[Plenary session]
                  -Camp David, Sequoia

      Kissinger’s previous conversation with People’s Republic of China [PRC] ambassador
            -Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR]-PRC Non-aggression treaty
                  -US-USSR treaty
                        -Forewarning
                                           -20-

                    NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                          Conversation No. 945-4 (cont’d)

                  -PRC reply
                       -Statement

      Brezhnev’s visit
           -Agenda
                 -Anatoliy F. Dobrynin
                 -Camp David, Sequoia
                 -Sergei Antonov’s view
                       -Sequoia
                 -Camp David
                 -Economic meeting [plenary session]
                 -Sequoia, Camp David, economic meeting
                 -Dobrynin
                       -Sequoia, Camp David

Kissinger left at 11:04 am.

Also recorded on June 19, 1973

041-011 9:36 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:36 am and 10:12 am.
945-002 9:36 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:36 am and 11:00 am.
945-003 9:36 AM · 1 hr 43 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., Ronald L. Ziegler, White House operator, and J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:36 am to 11:00 am.
041-012 10:12 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:12 am and 12:35 pm.
945-005 11:04 AM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:04 am to 11:17 am.
447-012 12:09 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:09 pm and 12:10 pm.
447-013 12:10 PM · 21 min — 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.
447-014 12:35 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, and Thomas Hart met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:35 pm and 1:52 pm.

All 41 conversations from June 19, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 945-004, June 19, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/945-004 (accessed October 9, 2026).