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February 26, 1977

From the Journal of  A. F. Dobrynin, Record of Conversation with US Secretary of State C. Vance

Soviet Ambassador Dobrynin met with US Secretary of State Vance and requested that he pass on a letter to President Carter from Brezhnev. The letter addressed finding a realistic approach to nuclear disarmament and the previous agreement in Vladivostok.

August 10, 1977

Letter, Warren Christopher to William Hyland, 'Response to Soviet Message on South Africa'

This draft reply to Leonid Brezhnev's August 1977 message to Jimmy Carter on the suspicious site in the Kalahari Desert includes a number of interesting points, among them a request for the "geographic coordinates, size, configuration, and exact nature of the facility." Presumably this information would be used by the US to better target its reconnaissance satellites on the site.

April 27, 1978

CPSU CC Politburo Transcript, 27 April 1978 (excerpt)

The CPSU CC Politburo discusses recent negotiations with US Secretary of State Vance regarding Soviet-American relations and Soviet criticism of the Carter administration’s foreign policy and position on strategic weapons.

September 27, 1979

CPSU CC Politburo Decision with Brezhnev-Carter Hotline Correspondence

Telegram, in response to the President of the USA, regarding the issue of the Soviet military personnel in Cuba

June 8, 1978

Speech by L.I. Brezhnev to CPSU CC Politburo, 08 June 1978

Concerns US-Soviet relations, including involvement in Africa, NATO, China, and SALT.

March 11, 1980

Letter to the Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Chairman of the Socialist International, Willy Brandt

A letter from Brezhnev to Willy Brandt before their meeting in Madrid. Discusses detente and the disarmament.

September 27, 1979

Minutes of CPSU CC Politburo Meeting (excerpt)

Minutes of the CPSU CC Politburo Meeting. Carter has appealed to the Soviet Union regarding the issue of the presence of a military brigade in Cuba. The meeting attendees discuss a rough draft response and offer corrections.

August 7, 1980

Meeting between Comrades Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev and Todor Zhivkov

This memorandum provides an overview of the meeting between Bulgarian leader Todor Zhivkov and Leonid Brezhnev. The two discussed international affairs, specifically escalating tensions with the U.S. and NATO, and Soviet interest in maintaining and strengthening detente. In response, a new international summit of the communist parties is proposed.

March 28, 1977

Talks Between A.A.Gromyko and Cyrus Vance

The main topic of discussion was US President Jimmy Carter's "comprehensive" proposals for the SALT-2 Treaty, views that the Soviets saw as contravening the Vladivostok accords reached with US President Gerald Ford in 1974. The Soviet rejection of Carter's initiative was certainly the newsmaking centerpiece of the Vance visit. Other, more positive, discussions covered a wide range of topics, including the Vienna talks on arms limitations in Central Europe, the Middle East, non-proliferation, Cyprus, and others. Below is a brief sampler.

December 29, 1979

Excerpt from the Minutes of the CC CPSU Politburo Meeting, 'Reply to an appeal of President Carter about the issue of Afghanistan through the direct communications channel'

Soviet letter to US President Jimmy Carter responding to the US position on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The CC CPSU Politburo informs the White House that the Soviet leadership desires to maintain detente with the US and that the intervention of Soviet troops was done at the request of the Afgan leadership, under Article 51 of the UN charter.