the stalled offensive in the south and the devastation in north vietnam had helped to convince hanoi to return to the bargaining table by early august. the meetings produced new concessions from hanoi which promised to end the deadlock that had plagued negotiations since their inception in 1968. gone were hanoi's demands for the ouster of south vietnamese president nguyễn văn thiệu and his replacement by a coalition government in which the national liberation front would participate. the u.s. on its part agreed to a cease fire in place which conceded that north vietnamese soldiers could remain in south vietnam after a peace agreement. the diplomatic impasse was broken and nixon ordered a halt to all bombing above the 20th parallel on 23 october and on 26 october kissinger announced that "peace is at hand." this once again placed hanoi and haiphong off-limits, and halted "linebacker" operations.