"North Korea seems to be saying they are ready to try a multilateral format," said Scott Snyder, author of "Negotiating on the Edge," about North Korean negotiating tactics.
China's president, Hu Jintao, this week sent a compromise proposal to the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il: a multilateral format, possibly eventually including South Korea and Japan too, that would also allow for bilateral exchanges.But is either side really interested in a deal or simply trying to avoid taking the blame if talks fall through?
If history is any indication, trade deals, which are always better in the multilateral format (such as under the WTO), are the world's best hope for avoiding another global recession.
He has recently put out a paper calling for the revival of the multilateral format under which the peace process was relaunched by the Americans in Madrid in 1991.
China has long said that the territorial disputes should be resolved in bilateral negotiations, not in a multilateral setting.
The latest battleground in a multilateral war between drug-trafficking gangs and the authorities, Monterrey is not a dusty outpost.
It was hoped at the time that the British deterrent would be subsumed in a multilateral NATO force.
Haas: The smartest place to begin would be in a multilateral setting, much as we had over Afghanistan.
The key lies in a multilateral approach to helping Africa, and America is the biggest missing element for greater multilateral assistance.The International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank is the right focal point for revamping and expanding the aid flows.
