[He shakes his head slightly, recognizing Rei's expression for what it is.]

We've had enough wars...

[The next time a city pops up with some heart-wrenching story about how Gigas is oppressing them, they should probably take it with a grain of salt.]

I don't want to say 'pretend', but... I think we should try to be as friendly to them as we can stand. They're not going to listen if they think we're against them, but... if we understand their culture and understand more about their program, they might be more willing to hear what we have to say. At the very least, having our scientists study their program means we know what parts of it really have to be stopped.

[a pause]

It might take a while before they trust us, though, it's true...

[This is a very Lucas solution, somehow.]