ABSTRACT
Two delegations, one American, one Soviet, entered the ornate Finnish state banquet hall to celebrate the beginning of the strategic arms limitations talks. In their first meeting, Smith and Semenov discussed procedure and agenda. The two agreed that the meetings would be classified, and there would be no press briefings. During the first round of SALT, Smith had to clear his statements with Washington. Nixon was still hoping to use SALT as a tool to advance US foreign policy in a range of subjects, he lost that hope in spring 1970. President Nixon acknowledged the change that took place in the status of SALT in an indirect way during a discussion he had with Dobrynin, who joined the president and Kissinger on board the presidential yacht, the Sequoia. Nixon and Kissinger were careful in the language they used to justify Safeguard, emphasizing that phase II was tailored to any SALT agreement and would not obstruct it.
