Office of the Historian

171. Memorandum of Conversation1

Washington, September 22, 1988, 10:40–10:50 a.m.

SUBJECT

  • The Secretary’s Meeting with Shevardnadze: Organizational Plenary Session

PARTICIPANTS

  • U.S.

    • George P. Shultz, Secretary of State
    • Colin Powell, National Security Advisor to the President
    • Rozanne L. Ridgway, Assistant Secretary of State (EUR)
    • Jack Matlock, U.S. Ambassador to the USSR
    • plus heads and members of working groups
    • Dimitri Zarechnak (interpreter)

  • USSR

    • Eduard A. Shevardnadze, Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • Aleksandr A. Bessmertnykh, Deputy Foreign Minister
    • Viktor P. Karpov, Directorate Head, Soviet MFA
    • Yuriy V. Dubinin, Soviet Ambassador to the U.S.
    • plus heads and members of working groups
    • Pavel Palazhchenko, MFA (interpreter)
[Page 1141]

After a photo opportunity in the Franklin room with full delegations, the Secretary said the sides had an established work pattern that was productive and familiar. The ministers had had their organizational meeting and planned that working groups would proceed as in the past. On the U.S. side, the arms control working group—which could subdivide itself—would be headed by Ambassador Nitze, the human rights group by Ambassador Schifter, the regional group by Mr. Solomon, and the bilateral group by Mr. Silins.

The Secretary continued that the ministers expected productive work. The groups should bring suggestions they had to the ministers’ attention; working group heads might be asked to take part in the ministers’ meetings.

The Secretary commented that the ministers expected a hard-working, business-like meeting that would accomplish as much as possible. He recalled that, when Shevardnadze had suggested two years before that all working groups gather to present their reports to ministers, people on the U.S. side found what was happening astonishing. The desire was to continue to produce the astonishing, so that it became the norm.

Shevardnadze said it would be hard to add to the Secretary’s comments. The sides had a unique arrangement using the best minds of both; if there was progress, it was a result of that arrangement. He and the Secretary had decided there should be a full-scale discussion.

Shevardnadze observed that this would probably be the last time that all the people present would be gathered in this setting, at least the last time this year. He hoped the meeting would conclude with substantive results; there were no differences between him and the Secretary on this.

Shevardnadze said Ambassador Karpov would head the Soviet arms control working group, which would in turn would have subgroups on START, the ABM Treaty, nuclear testing and nuclear nonproliferation, chemical weapons and conventional arms. Mr. Polyakov would head the regional group, Mr. Glukhov the human rights group, and Mr. Sredin the bilateral group, in which Ambassadors Matlock and Dubinin would make a contribution. Shevardnadze closed by asking the sides to work on a good final statement.

The Secretary instructed the groups to begin work, and the plenary concluded at 10:50 a.m.

  1. Source: Department of State, Executive Secretariat, S/S Records, Memoranda of Conversations Pertaining to United States and USSR Relations, 1981–1990, Lot 93D188, Ministerial Memcons, Secret; Sensitive. Drafted by Pifer; cleared by Vershbow. The meeting took place in the Monroe Room at the Department of State.↩