Thirty-nine years ago today, on November 17, 1986 (October 16, 1986 lunar calendar), there will be ad hoc talks on US-Soviet arms control talks. On November 17, 1986, the US and the Soviet Union had reached an interim agreement, and senior arms control negotiators from the two countries were scheduled to meet in Geneva in early December to break the deadlock on nuclear arms reduction. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the talks were proposed by the Soviet side and that the chief negotiators from the US and the Soviet Union, Kamparman and Karpov, would attend the talks. The official said the two sides are also considering a meeting by experts from both sides in early January 1987 before the next round of talks is formally held in mid-January 1987. White House spokesperson Steven Speakes said on the 17th that any future nuclear arms reduction agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union must be accompanied by a reduction in the Soviet Union's conventional forces. This is the first time that the United States has publicly linked the prospect of arms reduction talks to the issue of balancing conventional forces in Europe. He further explained that in the next five years, the United States and the Soviet Union will each reduce their nuclear weapons by 50% without the issue of reducing conventional forces, but when entering the second five years of US-Soviet negotiations to eliminate all ballistic missiles, either the United States must increase its conventional forces or the Soviet Union must reduce its conventional forces.