+ Meeting with the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, Mr. Nikolay Ryzhkov

These are the scenario and event notes for Mulroney’s meeting with the Chairman of the Soviet Council of Ministers, Nikolay Ryzhkov. As the Soviet head of government, Ryzhkov (not Gorbachev) was Mulroney’s direct counterpart. The meeting was an opportunity to raise issues like consumer shortages and flagging support for reform within the USSR, the persona non grata status of Canadian diplomats expelled from the Soviet Union, Azeri blockades of Armenia, exit visas for ‘refuseniks,’ and the opening of a new Canadian consulate in Kyiv. The state dinner at the Great Kremlin Palace would commence with reciprocal toasts.