Paris talks. How it was… (To the 50th anniversary of signing the Paris Agreement on ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam)

Abstract

The presented historic essay is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Paris Agreement on ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam (January 27, 1973). The author analyzes the main Vietnamese publications over this period, which show the process of the political leadership of the United States and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam realizing the need and possibility of a political settlement of a long military conflict, as well as the most important features of the Paris negotiations and their completion on terms that meet the national interests of the Vietnamese people. The essay pays primary attention to the book of memoirs of a direct participant in the negotiations, a representative of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam Nguyen Thi Binh “Family, friends and homeland. Memories”. Separate sections of this book are given verbatim in the essay, from which the reader can learn the details of the long negotiation process and their personal perception by the author of the memoirs. The essay also highly appreciates the role of the main Vietnamese “negotiator”, the Secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Vietnam Le Duc Tho, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his great contribution in achieving the Paris Agreement, but refused to accept it on principled grounds.

Keywords

• drv
• usa
• south vietnam
• nlfsv
• paris agreement on ending the war and restoring peace in vietnam
• paris talks
• avenue kléber