Record of Conversation between Bush and Gorbachev following Summit Washington December 10 1987 Bush My wife and I watched your press conference practically in full It made a very strong impression on us The visit is ending successfully Gorbachev Yes this is the thought I wanted to express in my introductory statement and in answers to questions Without exaggeration but still to make it clear that we are evidently entering a new stage in our relations New opportunities are obvious We have to use them to the maximum Bush I agree Now we have conditions for that You personally contributed to it greatly As part of my electoral campaign today I took part in a live TV show “Questions and Answers ” talked with residents of the Midwest our heartland There the reaction to your visit is literally verging on euphoria The treaty you and the president signed enjoys huge support Gorbachev This is very valuable Overall something is clearly changing It is changing right in front of our eyes literally during these days See for example the people gathered on sidewalks welcoming us waving their hands Take our stop today and the conversation with the people Bush It is being shown on TV again and again There happened to be only one cameraman with a camera there--from CNN Gorbachev That is good Bush I have to say that you answered questions at the press conference very well Some of them were not easy ones For example the question by Washington Post columnist Mary McGrory about whether the summit met your expectations in terms of arms control issues By the way she is a very good journalist But in response you and very rightly so cited your introductory statement--it had indeed said everything Gorbachev That’s why it was quite extensive But my main thought right now is that we have to do a lot of work in the coming months Bush I would like to speak about the coming months For me they will be mainly occupied by the electoral campaign Everything will become clear by about mid-to-late March If my campaign goes as well as it is going right now and according to the polls it is going well and I am able to achieve significant success in the primaries then the issues of my nomination from the Republican Party will be settled If it fails then Robert Dole will be nominated The rest-- Pierre DuPont Jack Kemp Robinson sic Pat Robertson and Alexander Haig--do not have a serious chance I am committed to the cause of improving SovietAmerican relations If I get elected I will continue what we started Dole by the way could also make a very good president including with regard to developing SovietAmerican relations All in all if we take a broader view of things it would probably be better for you to deal with a Republican president Of course we may face more difficulties of one kind or another but that is not the main thing In the past we needed Richard Nixon to go to China Today we need Ronald Reagan to sign and ensure ratification of the treaty reducing nuclear weapons This is a role for a conservative And there is nobody in America to the right of Reagan There is no such thing as right of Reagan There is only the extremist fringe But they don’t count The broad spectrum of the population is in favor of the treaty You would do generally well with the Democrats But they as we say “do not guarantee delivery ” They cannot ensure support for big agreements Although I have to admit your relations with any of the currently running Democrats would probably develop quite smoothly In the coming months the busy electoral campaign notwithstanding I would be willing if need be to assist you with resolving some Soviet-American issues to remove possible unpleasantries Of course I am hoping that there will be no such issues But if they emerge I have certain capacities of my own—to make an impact to influence things … Gorbachev I appreciate what you just said I appreciate the spirit in which it was said I also believe that staying in contact as you proposed could be useful You already expressed this idea to A F Dobrynin and he told me about it I support this And if you are destined to become the leader of this country then I hope that we will continue our interaction Bush What I am destined to--this as I said will become clear in the next three or four months My position is quite unique The vicepPresident does not have a defined “sphere of work ” But it gives one an opportunity to see things in a broad perspective to think about them I have extensive contacts I met with Polish leader Wojciech Jaruzelski recently I was impressed with him I had an opportunity to get to know him during my visit to Poland The visit was useful Our talk with Jaruzelski was good substantive He is an interesting person and a strong leader who inherited a difficult situation But I think he chose the right road Gorbachev Jaruzelski called me and told about your visit and conversation with you He is satisfied with the conversation He spoke well about you personally Bush This is good to hear I hope he is not too angry with me for meeting with Solidarity leader Lech Walesa Poland is not an ordinary country Things are not going easy for them and by the way during the visit we discussed opportunities for resolving the problems in our economic relations to help development of the economy of that country There are such opportunities Gorbachev And you and I have a great potential We should use it … Bush If I may I would like to ask about Korea especially because you’ve already mentioned it during the negotiations and passed on the document which I looked at This is my question what do you think about Kim Il Sung’s son What are his chances--will he be pushed aside or gradually move up to the top position Gorbachev You know we should figure this out Maybe both of us should This is an issue to think about I have never met him He does not leave the country very often As you know he is not without talent But they have all kinds of people there Bush We do not have diplomatic relations with North Korea and we know very little about them But judging by the information that we have he is some kind of brat a spoiled child They say they are not too happy with him there Gorbachev It is hard to tell Obviously his father is a greater figure I would limit myself to this Bush I understand And how in your opinion will Soviet-Chinese relations develop the policies of China Gorbachev We analyzed this and came to a firm conclusion China will always have an independent policy And this as we believe is positive We will develop our relations with China China will of course defend it own interests and we ours But we can find a balance We are ready and I think Soviet-Chinese relations have a future At the same time we do not intend to harm U S -China relations in any way Bush I agree with you I do not see any danger for the United States in the development of Soviet-Chinese relations I am often asked about this and every time I respond that I do not see any danger Gorbachev China will be more and more active Bush True its energy already causes concerns among its neighbors in the Asia-Pacific region and ASEAN Gorbachev Yes we noted that Bush Especially on the part of Indonesia Gorbachev It is clear that China will be reaching for international connections more and more actively especially in the Asia-Pacific region And the Soviet Union will as well We are also part of that region When I spoke in Vladivostok I expressed one thought which I would really like to bring to the attention of the American leadership by entering the Asia-Pacific region the Soviet Union is not in any way trying to hurt anyone’s interests especially not undermine the old interests of the United States We understand the importance of that region for you and for the West We did not and do not have any secret intentions nothing except for the desire to interact and develop cooperation with the countries of the region Bush That’s the way I think about it too Source Record was compiled from Mikhail Gorbachev Zhizn’ i reformy Moscow Novosti 1995 vol 2 pp 67-69 and Otvechaya na vyzov vremeni pp 189-191 Translated by Svetlana Savranskaya