But it was also clear that whatever he said here was closely and instantly dissected at home, raising uncertainty over whether he could truly deliver a compromise with the West, if that is what he sought.
But there are also very visible areas where they have compromised, delivered very little, or made things worse.
It remains controversial whether delaying radiotherapy in order to deliver chemotherapy compromises local disease control and survival.
Health workers may feel that the quality of care that they can deliver is compromised by these additional pressures.
As they met, the German mission was delivering a compromise resolution for reauthorizing the Iraqi oil for food program that has been the primary source of food for 14.5 million Iraqis.
If the UK gets itself into a position that is clear, reasonable about what it's trying to achieve then there may be scope to have a relatively harmonious process that delivers a compromise position.
Scotland's fisheries minister, Richard Lochhead, said: "This negotiation is a key milestone on the road to a discard-free Europe and delivers a compromise plan which is both realistic and workable.
We chose d experimentally, so that it delivers a compromise between rejecting questionable matches while retaining clear ones.
As a result, Mr. Obama's ability to deliver a bipartisan compromise on entitlement spending may be waning even as Republicans edge closer to one.
While he may feel the greater urgency in seeing some progress made between the two countries, his ability to deliver a difficult compromise is in doubt.
