Excerpt of Remarks During a Meeting With Network Anchors on United States-Soviet Relations

Q. Does the Andropov interview published today mean any fine-tuning of phrase here and there?

The President. I think—I welcome it and am willing to join them if they're—want to talk. That's all we've been waiting for and wanting. So, I welcome that, and I think that it is a reply to all this feeling that we have no communications with them. We do have and—

Q. Do you see it as a conciliatory message from Andropov or not? Do you see it as a conciliatory response?

The President. Well, I saw it as that he, himself, expressed what we have; that he believes there should be a dialog on some of the problems confronting us. So do I.