Shuttle Diplomacy - Proximity Talks

Proximity Talks

Proximity talks are similar to shuttle diplomacy, in being a form of indirect negotiations in which the parties do not meet each other face to face but communicate only via a mediator going back and forth and passing proposals and counter-proposals. But unlike shuttle diplomacy, where the mediator goes back and forth between rival capital cities, in proxmity talks the two parties consent to have their negotiators in proximity to each other (for example, in two hotels at the same city), which facilitates the work of the mediator and shortens the time which he or she needs to travel back and forth.

A recent case of proximity talks involves the exchange of prisoners between Israel and Hamas, carried out in October 2011 at the conclusion of five years of indirect negotiations. As extensively published in the Israeli media, but not officially confirmed, on several crucial occasions, Israeli and Hamas negotiators were both staying in Cairo, in close proximity to each other, though both officially refused to talk directly to the other. Instead, Egyptian and German mediators went from one to other, passing offers and counteroffer and finally achieving an agreement without Israelis and Palestinians ever meeting each other face to face.