Secret White House Tapes

913–5

About this recording

913–5
  • President Richard M. Nixon
  • Robert P. Griffin
  • VANCE HARTKE
  • Howard H. Baker
  • Howard W. Cannon
  • Frank E. Moss
  • White House photographer
  • UNKNOWN
May 8, 1973
Conversation No. 913-5

Date: May 8, 1973
Time: 5:46 pm - 6:27 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Robert P. Griffin, Vance Hartke, Howard H. Baker, Jr., J. Glenn Beall,
Jr., Howard W. Cannon, Frank E. Moss, Peter M. Flanigan, William E. Timmons, and Gen.
-10-


NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM


Tape Subject Log

(rev. January-2012)

Conversation No. 913-5 (cont’d)

Brent G. Scowcroft. The White House photographer was present at the beginning of the
meeting.

Greetings

Photograph

James B. Pearson

-Attendance


Trip

-Accounts [?]

-Photographs [?]


Senate calendar

-Votes

-Treaty [?]


Food and drink

-Breakfast

-Salami

-Vodka [?]

-Beer

-Czechoslovakia

-Baltimore


Senate Commerce Committee’s visit to Soviet Union

-Jackson-Vanik amendment

-Message to US delegation

-Possible effect

-Beall

-President’s relationship with Leonid I. Brezhnev

-Personal compared to official nature

-Griffin

-Meeting with Brezhnev and Andrei A. Gomyko

-Hartke’s statement

-Griffin

-11-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. January-2012)

Conversation No. 913-5 (cont’d)

-Content

-Support for President, Brezhnev

-Location

-Kremlin

-Politburo

-Gromyko

-Promotion to Politburo

-Role

-[First name unknown] Alexandrov

-Corrections to interpretation

-[First name unknown] Troyanovsky [interpreter]

-President’s assessment

-Education in US

-Friends school
-President’s experience

-1972 summit

-Meeting with Kruschev, 1959

-Age

-Bipartisan support for President

-Winston S. Churchill’s meeting with Joseph V. Stalin

-One-party system compared to two-party

-Meeting with Supreme Soviet President

-Trade relations

-Dissent with Supreme Soviet

-Committee’s previous meeting with Brezhnev

-Brezhnev’s role

-Politburo, Supreme Soviet President

Brezhnev
-Health
-Forthcoming visit to United States

Henry A. Kissinger’s visit to Soviet Union
-Schedule
-Moscow

Negotiations with Soviet Union
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. January-2012)

Conversation No. 913-5 (cont’d)

-Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT]

-Trade

-Attitudes

-Self-sufficiency

-Defensiveness

-Contrasted with People’s Republic of China [PRC]

-Self-confidence
Economic development

-Sensitivity

-Trade needs

-Inferiority


Soviet Union
-Changes over time

-Consumer goods, diet

th
-Compared with 19 century America

-Need to demonstrate respect

-Negotiations

-Business deal contrasted with personal relationship

-President’s relationship with Brezhnev

-Committee’s meeting with Soviet Union official

-Length of agreement

-“Cold War line”

-Brezhnev’s comments

-Trade relations

-Advantages

-Relations with US

-Relations with President

-Relations with US

-End of Vietnam War

-Restraint

-Brezhnev and Gromyko

-US embassy

-Trade expansion

-Brezhnev’s forthcoming visit to United States

-Importance to political leadership

-Age of Soviet Union leaders

-13-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. January-2012)

Conversation No. 913-5 (cont’d)

-Brezhnev’s age

-Senate Commerce Committee visit

-News stories

-Brezhnev consolidation of power

-Future leadership

-Brezhnev position

-Jewish emigration

-Henry M. (“Scoop”) Jackson

-Jackson-Vanik amendment

-Likelihood of action

-Brezhnev’s response to Senate Commerce Committee’s questions
-Internal policy
-Taxes
-Education tax
-Nikolai V. Podgorny and Aleksei Kosygin, and Supreme Soviet
-Need for Jackson-Vanik amendment
-Administrative fees
-National security
-Trade, Most Favored Nation [MFN] status
-Preparation, briefing paper
-Statistics
-Senate Commerce Committee’s potential public statements

Trade legislation
-Jackson-Vanik amendment

-Congressional support

-Russell B. Long

-Conditionality

-Soviet Union’s internal system

-Brezhnev’s ability to negotiate

-Brezhnev’s comments

-Possible conditions

-President’s conversations
-Jackson, Jacob K. Javitts, and Abraham A Ribicoff
-American Jewish leaders
-Risk to US-Soviet Union relations
-Pressure
-14-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. January-2012)

Conversation No. 913-5 (cont’d)

-American Jewish community
-Preferences
-Communication with Brezhnev
-Compared with relations with PRC
-President’s conversation with Chou En-Lai
-Conditions
-John T. Downey
-Jewish emigration
-Possible effect
-SALT II
-Importance

-Trade

-US-Soviet Union relations

-Middle East
-President’s support
-Congressional support
-Desire to emigrate
-Ukranians, Jews, Germans
-Latvians, Lithuanians

-Position of influence

-Jewish minority

-Historic persecution of Jews
-Spain, France, Great Britain, United States
-Poland
-Soviet Union
-Position of influence
-Senate Commerce Committee’s visit to USSR
-Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union [TASS]’s question to Baker
-Trade relations
-“Face-saving modification”
-Phraseology
-US-Soviet Union relations
-Conditions
-Ultimatum
-Sponsorship
-Javitts and Ribicoff
-Jackson
-15-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. January-2012)

Conversation No. 913-5 (cont’d)

-Anti-Communism

-Contrasted with President’s realism

-US-Soviet Union relations

-Changes

-Negotiations

-Possible effect of amendment

-Congressional responsibility

-Need for direction from White House

-Beall’s conversation with Maryland Jewish leaders

-President’s conversation with US Jewish leaders

-President’s assessment

Middle East
-Egypt, Israel
-Soviet Union’s role
-Survival of Israel

Trade legislation
-White House role
-Phraseology
-Jackson-Vanik amendment
-Votes

-Support

-World Peace

-Need for modification

-Disagreement

-George Meany


Howard W. Cannon’s meeting with Soviet Jewish leaders
-Group composition
-Applications to emigrate
-Effects

-Unemployment

-National Academy of Sciences employee

-Emigration tax

-Harassment

-Security clearances

-16-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. January-2012)

Conversation No. 913-5 (cont’d)

-Possible reason for denying applications
-Number of Soviet Jews desiring to emigrate

-2900

-Successful emigration

-Press coverage
-Effects

-Family members

-Disconnection of telephones

-Security risk of applicants

Trade legislation
-Brezhnev’s efforts
-President’s previous conversations
-Harassment of Soviet Jews
-Exit tax

-Progress of negotiations

-President’s forthcoming meeting with Brezhnev

-Potential response to Jackson-Vanik amendment
-MFN

-President’s view of problem

-Possible effects on US-Soviet Union relations

-Possible involvement of Department of Defense [DOD]
-Phraseology

-Griffin

-Javitts, Ribikoff

-Effects of forthcoming meetings

-Need for dialogue

-White House input on legislation

-Loophole
-Difficulties faced by Soviet Hews compared to other Soviet Union citizens
-Applicability of Soviet laws
-Early Soviet Union leaders
-Leon Trotsky, Vladimir Ilich Lenin
-Phraseology

-Griffin

-lfanigan

-17-


NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM


Tape Subject Log

(rev. January-2012)

Conversation No. 913-5 (cont’d)

President’s relationship with Brezhnev

-Bipartisan support


Emigration of Soviet Jews

-Small numbers

-Soviet national security

-US role
-Risk

Jackson

Senate Commerce Committee visit to Eastern Europe
-Report
-Warsaw, Poland, and Hungary
-Tone set by visit to Moscow
-Poland
-Meeting with Edward Gierek
-Visit to US
-[First name unknown] Pitka [?]

Griffin et al. left at 6:27 pm. An unknown man remained.

Trade legislation
-Education tax on Soviet Jews
-Effect on MFN
-Timing
-Kissinger’s return from Moscow

The unknown man left at 6:27 pm.
-18-


NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM


Tape Subject Log

(rev. January-2012)
Secret White House Tapes |

913–5

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