Readers reply: Has a call for restraint from an authority figure ever put a stop to war?

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts

This week’s question: should we be polite to voice assistants and AIs?

Has a war ever ended or de-escalated because someone (eg the pope, the UN secretary general) called on the belligerents to “show restraint”?
Laurence Whiteside, via email

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