TNAG-0115-FCO40-151-Departmental-briefs-for-Commonwealth-Prime-Minister-s-and-ot-1969 — Page 59

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area including North Vietnam and would make a

contribution commensurate with her resources.

15.

Mr. Stewart said he felt optimistic about

the Paris talks. The United States had shown

more flexibility recently. The new Administra-

tion prided itself on a more constructive

approach. The North Vietnamese had not

matched American de-escalation but the military

effectiveness of the North Vietnamese and

N.L.F. had declined. Behind the Paris talks,

the North Vietnamese were trying to estimate

hether opinion in the United States was such

as to persuade the United States Government

to

drop its interest in achieving a solution

in Vietnam, When it was understood in Hanoi

that the United States Government would not

pull out of Vietnam in order to get a settle-

ment, this realisation, added to the war

weariness in North Vietnam, Would bring about

a move towards settlement. In the meantime,

the Government of South Vietnam was in better

shape and its military performance was also

better. It had had sufficient confidence to

propose talks with the N.L.F. though there

had been no response. Both sides would like a

settlement but nd ther would give up completely.

When this was understood it would be possible

for moves towards a settlement to be made by

the Chairmen and others, It was tragic to

think that the solution, when it came, would be

on the lines proposed as long as four years ago.

One possible course would be to mut new life /into

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