The parties to a four-week-old ceasefire have opened mediated negotiations toward a permanent settlement, the most significant diplomatic step since the fighting stopped. Mediators from two neighbouring states are hosting the talks, which are scheduled to run across three rounds over the coming weeks.
A ceasefire freezes a war. A settlement has to answer the questions the war was about. That is a far harder negotiation, and it is the one that starts now.
- Dr. Farida Nasser, conflict-resolution scholar, Centre for Diplomacy
The current truce has already outlasted a previous attempt that collapsed after 11 days, and observers credit a monitoring arrangement, in which both sides report violations to a neutral panel, with holding it together.
What is on the table
The first round is expected to focus on the least contentious issues - prisoner exchanges and humanitarian access - before moving to territory and security guarantees. Mediators have deliberately sequenced the agenda so early agreements can build the trust needed for the harder questions.
Why this attempt may differ
Analysts caution that opening talks is not the same as reaching a deal, and that previous negotiations have foundered on exactly the territorial questions still to come. But the combination of a durable truce, an active monitoring panel and external mediators represents the strongest framework the process has had.