300. Editorial Note
On May 11, 1988, Secretary of State George Shultz met with Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze at the Ambassador’s Office of the U.S. Mission in Geneva from 2:55 to 5:30 p.m., in advance of the Moscow Summit scheduled for the end of the month. “Realistically,” Shevardnadze acknowledged, “it would not be possible to reach a START agreement by the summit. Even if the ministers agreed on all the basic issues that day, it would be physically impossible to put them all on paper in time. But he would welcome, as the crown of the summit, an impressive document that summarized the results of Geneva, Reykjavik, Washington, and the work prior to Moscow. What the document was called was not important. What was important was to record the results achieved.” (Memorandum of Conversation, May 11, 2:55–5:30 p.m.; Department of State, Executive Secretariat, S/S-IRM Records, Memoranda of Conversations Pertaining to United States and USSR Relations, 1981–1990, Lot 93D188, Untitled Folder) The memorandum of conversation is printed in Foreign Relations, 1981–1988, vol. VI, Soviet Union, October 1986–January 1989, Document 149.
Shultz and Shevardnadze met again that evening, from 8:20 to 9:50 p.m., at the Soviet Mission. After agreeing to adjourn the Nuclear and Space Arms Talks from May 24 to July 12, they discussed ongoing efforts to craft a summit joint statement, and whether to include a separate statement on START. “The most difficult area,” Shultz noted, “was START and Defense and Space. Working groups were already at work and had dealt with three items already, according to the reports the Secretary had heard. The Secretary would be glad to hear any comments Shevardnadze might have, but he was inclined to await a full report from the experts when they had concluded their discussions rather than work in parallel.” (Memorandum of Conversation, May 11, 8:20–9:50 p.m.; Department of State, Executive Secretariat, S/S-IRM Records, Memoranda of Conversations Pertaining to United States and USSR Relations, 1981–1990, Lot 93D188, Untitled Folder) The memorandum of conversation is printed in Foreign Relations, 1981–1988, vol. VI, Soviet Union, October 1986–January 1989, Document 150.