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| Screenshot of the article (Photo: VNA) |
The article, published on July 18 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Peace Agreement (July 21), emphasized that the Geneva Agreement was signed exactly 70 years ago on July 21, 1954. It highlighted that for the first time in history, France and major powers had to acknowledge the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. This was a triumph of Vietnam's firm and courageous diplomatic struggle to uphold justice and national interests.
The article praised the roles of Deputy Prime Minister Pham Van Dong, Deputy Minister of Defense Ta Quang Buu and Colonel Ha Van Lau, a special military expert and assistant to Deputy Minister Ta Quang Buu, in the highly stressful negotiations under significant pressure from major powers.
"After 75 days of negotiations with 31 bilateral and multilateral meetings, the Geneva Agreement on peace in Vietnam was signed on July 21, 1954. France and the conference participants recognized the fundamental rights of Vietnam, including independence, sovereignty, national unity and territorial integrity. However, Vietnam was temporarily divided into two regions," according to Resumen Latinoamericano.
The article cited former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan, noting that the Geneva negotiations represented a firm, persistent but flexible diplomatic struggle depending on the balance of power. At that time, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam decided to opt for a ceasefire and accepted a diplomatic solution, creating favorable conditions for the general offensive and uprising to liberate and reunify the country 21 years later.
"We fought with all our strength. From the beginning, we did not consider the 17th parallel as the boundary to divide the two regions. Deputy Prime Minister Pham Van Dong proposed negotiating from the 13th, 14th, to the 16th parallels to create more favorable conditions for the revolution. However, given the balance of power at the time and the relationships between the major powers, we had to accept the final agreement temporarily setting the 17th parallel as the boundary between North and South," the article quoted former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan.
The article affirmed that the victory of achieving the Geneva Agreement remains valuable, demonstrating the Vietnamese people's desire for peace, friendship, and harmony, as well as the correctness of Ho Chi Minh's diplomatic thinking, which linked peace with independence, freedom, sovereignty and national territorial integrity./.