George H.W. Bush: “There was not great discussion of that. I did, as you know, make clear in the statement issued by our Press Secretary…”

“There was not great discussion of that. I did, as you know, make clear in the statement issued by our Press Secretary the fact that the United States feels that the use of force particularly in the Baltics would be counterproductive. There was some discussion of the internal affairs of the Soviet Union when I talked to Mr. Gorbachev. He knows of my position, that we view the Baltics differently. They were not incorporated. We feel that they have a very different standing than other Republics, and I reiterated my position on that. But it was mainly about the Gulf, although we did talk about this. And, of course, I am very hopeful that they can find a way to resolve these extraordinarily complex problems without resorting to force.”