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.
Read more about this topic: Shuttle Diplomacy
Famous quotes containing the words proximity and/or talks:
“The triumphs of peace have been in some proximity to war. Whilst the hand was still familiar with the sword-hilt, whilst the habits of the camp were still visible in the port and complexion of the gentleman, his intellectual power culminated; the compression and tension of these stern conditions is a training for the finest and softest arts, and can rarely be compensated in tranquil times, except by some analogous vigor drawn from occupations as hardy as war.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Adults understandably assume that the level of verbal proficiency a five-year-old displays represents his level of proficiency in all areas of functioning—if he talks like an adult, he must think and feel like one. However, five-year-olds,... belie the promise of adult-like behavior with their child-like, impulsive actions.”
—Dorothy H. Cohen (20th century)