It took more than 150 meetings and two years before the Korean War armistice agreement was reached.<\/p>\n
The Western Sahara conflict began in the 1970s and continues today.<\/p>\n
So what does it take to end a conflict?<\/p>\n
Despite multiple rounds of peace talks and mounting international scrutiny, there doesn’t appear to be an end in sight to the bloodshed in Israel-Gaza.<\/p>\n
Russia and Ukraine are caught in a similar stalemate, with the weekend’s Alaskan summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin failing to make any inroads on peace with Kyiv.<\/p>\n
But mediators warn negotiations are “highly technical” and “incredibly difficult”.<\/p>\n
And history shows it will take time, patience \u2014 and for world leaders like Mr Trump to keep applying pressure \u2014 before we will see peace.<\/p>\n
Here is a look at what happens when you get two enemies in a room, and how to guide them towards a solution.<\/p>\n
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More than 150 meetings were held in the lead-up to the Korean War armistice agreement. (AP Photo)<\/p>\n
Who mediates peace talks?<\/p>\n
Peace talks can involve direct negotiations between warring parties or the use of a mediator.<\/p>\n
Paul Dziatkowiec is the director of mediation and peace support at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, and previously worked as an Australian diplomat for about a decade.<\/p>\n
He says mediators must be trusted by both sides and should traditionally be seen as impartial.<\/p>\n
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Donald Trump has been involved in mediations. (Reuters: Jonathan Ernst)<\/p>\n
Although that’s not always the case, such as with Mr Trump.<\/p>\n
“You see the US president trying to play this kind of role, pushing and prodding and using sanctions and economic incentives to try to force a result,” Mr Dziatkowiec says.<\/p>\n
Peace talks can also be extremely tense affairs, so mediators need to have a knack for keeping people calm.<\/p>\n
“Behind closed doors, there are times when [people] insult each other and swear at each other,” Mr Dziatkowiec says.<\/p>\n
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Thousands of Russian conscripts have been killed in the war with Ukraine. (Reuters: Sergey Pivovarov)<\/p>\n
What can drive a conflict?<\/p>\n
Mr Dziatkowiec says wars often boil down to people’s “needs and fears”.<\/p>\n
“This is the underlying reason for many conflicts. This is often where the solution can be found,” he says.<\/p>\n
Both sides can be driven by basic things.<\/p>\n
“They’re afraid for their security, they’re interested in respect, dignity, economic opportunity, and a more comfortable life for their family unit, for their community,” Mr Dziatkowiec says.<\/p>\n
These are just some of the levers mediators can pull when guiding negotiations.<\/p>\n
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The war is continuing to rage between Russia and Ukraine. (Reuters: Gleb Garanich)<\/p>\n
What can make peace talks successful?<\/p>\n
Dr Damien Kingsbury is a professor emeritus\u00a0of politics and security at Deakin, and has participated in multiple peace talks.<\/p>\n
He says compromise is key.<\/p>\n
“If you come out with a 50-50 compromise, you end up with only half of what you want,” he says.<\/p>\n
“But it’s half of something, rather than 100 per cent of nothing.”<\/p>\n
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Compromise will be a key part of successful peace talks, including for Gaza. (Reuters: Hatem Khaled)<\/p>\n
External factors can also make or break negotiations.<\/p>\n
Dr Kingsbury was an advisor at the 2005 peace talks<\/a> that ended a brutal, three-decade separatist war in the Indonesian province of Aceh.<\/p>\n He says both sides were caught in a “hurting stalemate” \u2014 a deadlock causing significant harm to each, with no clear path to victory.<\/p>\n But by 2005, both sides were inching toward a peace deal.<\/p>\n The Aceh peace deal brought three decades of brutal conflict to an end. (AFP: Tor Wennstrom)<\/p>\n The Free Aceh Movement was considering dropping its demands for full independence, while in Jakarta, new Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was ready to pursue a peace deal as part of his strategy to curb the powers of the country’s military.<\/p>\n Moves towards peace were given extra impetus as the\u00a0region struggled to recover from the impact of the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami<\/a>.<\/p>\n “They had a willingness to be at the table and a genuine desire for some sort of resolution,” Dr Kingsbury says.<\/p>\n Gaza City has been targeted by Israeli strikes. (Reuters: Khamis Al-Rifi)<\/p>\n What can make peace talks fail?<\/p>\n If there isn’t “political will” for peace from the top, talks will inevitably struggle.<\/p>\n Mr Dziatkowiec worked on the Russo-Ukrainian War for six years before Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022, and experienced this firsthand from Russia’s Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n “I knew if one man sitting in Moscow didn’t want there to be a breakthrough, then it wouldn’t matter how effective our discussions were,” he says.<\/p>\n What it’s like sitting at Vladimir Putin’s very long negotiating table<\/a><\/p>\n Vladimir Putin is a Russian leader known for using power plays and intimidation to dance around negotiations with world leaders.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dr Kingsbury says while Kyiv seems genuinely interested in negotiation, Moscow doesn’t appear to be.<\/p>\n “So it may come to the table, but not be prepared to make any substantive compromises in order to find a resolution,” he says.<\/p>\n As for the Israel-Gaza conflict, Dr Kingsbury says it seems neither Israel nor Hamas is genuinely interested in a peace agreement.<\/p>\n He says the Israeli government appears to want a “military success” against Hamas, similar to the one that ended the Sri Lankan civil war.<\/p>\n That 26-year conflict finished after Sri Lanka’s military crushed the Tamil Tigers, killing as many as 40,000 civilians<\/a> in the final months.<\/p>\n Experts say it seems neither Israel nor Hamas is genuinely interested in a peace agreement. (Reuters: Mohammed Salem)<\/p>\n In addition to a lack of political will, Dr Kingsbury says “spoilers” can also hamper talks.<\/p>\n These are people who continually undermine peace talks by launching military actions or politically blocking agreements.<\/p>\n They are typically third parties, such as terrorist groups or rogue commanders, but can also cause havoc in the “main negotiating parties”.<\/p>\n Facing these kinds of barriers, Mr Dziatkowiec\u00a0says some days can feel hopeless for mediators.<\/p>\n “Your job is to be the last one that gives up,” he\u00a0says.<\/p>\n A mediation expert says the Israeli government appears to want a military success against Hamas. (Reuters: Thomas Peter)<\/p>\n What happens if peace talks are abandoned?<\/p>\n This is where “private diplomacy” comes in.<\/p>\n These are secret talks between mediators and warring parties, including people that governments are “uncomfortable talking to directly”, such as terrorist or rebel groups.<\/p>\n Mr Dziatkowiec works in this space and says unofficial talks are always happening, even if official diplomacy has been abandoned or isn’t yet on the cards.<\/p>\n “You try to find entry points, you try to find creative ways to engage and build trust and get things moving,” he says.<\/p>\n Russia’s stance on the war with Ukraine could be influenced by China. (Reuters: Sputnik\/Vyacheslav Prokofyev)<\/p>\n What role do other countries play?<\/p>\n History shows that other countries can play a significant role in peace talks, but there must be sustained engagement.<\/p>\n Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is a prime example of this.<\/p>\n He spent months flying between Middle East capitals after the 1973 Arab-Israel war to deal with the fallout \u2014 a tenacious approach that coined the term “shuttle diplomacy”.<\/p>\n Henry Kissinger’s tenacious approach to negotiations became known as “shuttle diplomacy”. (AP Photo: File)<\/p>\n Mr Trump has an equally significant role to play in current major conflicts, according to Mr Dziatkowiec. He just needs to stay focused.<\/p>\n The mediation expert says the US president has brought a “new energy” to negotiations and has the greatest potential to change the course of these wars.<\/p>\n He has also shown a willingness to engage with leaders who are shunned by other Western nations, such as Mr Putin.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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