Henry Kissinger Negotiations and the Paris Peace Accords, 1970-1972
On February 21, 1970, Henry Kissinger began peace negotiations with a Vietnam political official Le Duc Tho. These secretive negotiations happened near Paris, far away from both countries involved in the conflict. However these talks brought little progress, as the North Vietnamese were disagreeable and stubborn. They demanded a complete and unconditional U.S. withdrawal of troops, and that the Thieu Government (the current South Vietnamese government) disband. The North Vietnamese refused to move forward with peace talks until these were agreed to by the US, and they also refused to accept any terms the US brought to the table. These included a withdrawal of both armies, a mixed group of officials to oversee South Vietnamese elections, and a Cambodian neutralization. Later meetings in March and April proved to be just as frustrating, with the North Vietnamese holding their stance. These negotiations soon became the Paris Peace Accords, and after October 8 in 1972 the north Vietnamese relaxed their stance, and the negotiations were almost concluded. The Accords were signed on July 27, 1973, ending the war. Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho received the Nobel Peace Prize for these negotiations (although Tho refused it). This ended the war and allowed peace between the countries, even though after these were signed and accepted, they were mostly ignored by the communists