← 006-039006-041 →

Conversation 006-040

TapeTape 6StartWednesday, June 30, 1971 at 9:23 AMEndWednesday, June 30, 1971 at 9:45 AMTape start time00:44:48Tape end time00:46:17ParticipantsKissinger, Henry A.;  Dobrynin, Anatoliy F.;  Nixon, Richard M. (President)Recording deviceWhite House Telephone
AI Summary

President Nixon, supported by Henry Kissinger, held a telephone conversation with Soviet Ambassador Anatoliy Dobrynin to express his personal condolences following the tragic deaths of Soviet cosmonauts. Nixon emphasized his genuine empathy by sharing a personal anecdote about receiving the news from his daughter, Julie, and drew parallels to the loss of American astronauts in the Apollo 1 fire. The call served to bolster diplomatic relations by conveying a heartfelt, non-routine message of solidarity between the two spacefaring nations.

Soviet Cosmonaut ProgramDiplomatic RelationsU.S.-Soviet RelationsSpace ExplorationCondolences
AudioNARA Description

On June 30, 1971, Henry A. Kissinger, Anatoliy F. Dobrynin, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:23 am and 9:45 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 006-040 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 6-40

Date: June 30, 1971
Time: Unknown between 9:23 am and 9:45 am
Location: White House Telephone

Henry A. Kissinger talked with Anatoliy F. Dobrynin.

[See Conversation No. 532-6D]

     Henry A. Kissinger's location

     President's condolences for Cosmonauts' deaths
           -President's official note to Soviet President
           -Preparation

The President talked with Dobrynin.

     President’s role

     Call to President by Julie Nixon Eisenhower
           -Julie Eisenhower's trip to Athens, Greece

     Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR] Cosmonaut Program
         -Loss of US astronauts in Apollo I fire
Transcript (AI-Generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.

Hello.
Hello.
Hello, Anatole.
Yeah.
Come on, Henry.
How are you?
I'm sitting here with the president.
Yes.
And he wanted me to express to you personally his sorrow at what happened with the cosmonauts.
Well, thank you very much.
We will send over a formal message to your president.
Yes, sir.
But he wanted me to.
Thank you very much.
Make sure, in fact, the President wants to say a word to you himself.
Yes.
Thank you very much.
Hello.
Hello, Mr. President.
I wanted you to know that this message is not just the usual one.
I dictated it myself and that, interestingly enough, my daughter Julie is in Athens, you know, and she called me on the phone, got me up at 7.30 this morning to say that she had just heard it.
So we just want you to know that wherever brave men are in the world, our deepest sympathy goes to them and
we know that uh that your program will continue as ours will you remember we had three that were lost to one time yes but we just want you to know that this is uh this is from the heart message to my government we will the thing that you can you can point out to your government that as i said that are my daughter called and these little personal things we won't put out
in our formal message, but I want you to know that.
And I really do appreciate it.
Thank you very much.
Fine.
Thank you.
← 006-039006-041 →