UN General Assembly
1967

In that respect, my Government agrees with the assessment of the Secretary-General, as well as the assessment of the vast majority of Governments in the non-aligned world, that a stopping of the bombing of North Viet-Nam will usher in a process of de- escalation of hostilities and will also create the kind of climate within which we can reasonably expect that some useful talk could take place. If the bombing of the North is stopped, we can also reasonably expect that it will be in the Interest of all the combatants to de-escalate or to halt all further expansion of military operations connected with the prosecution of the war both in the North and the South. One can hopefully expect such a gesture from all the combatants, because it is only too obvious that unless the balance of military advantages is held constant for the duration of the necessary talks, the alternative will be to continue the present process of chain-reaction, whereby a move from one side calls for a similar or more intensified counter-move from the other.