What does “shuttle diplomacy” mean in English?

When two sides in a conflict won’t sit in the same room, a third country or person travels between them — carrying offers, hearing replies, going back. Journalists call this “shuttle diplomacy.” The word “shuttle” comes from a small tool in weaving that slides back and forth across the cloth. That image of constant back-and-forth is exactly what the phrase captures. It has nothing to do with a space shuttle or a bus.

In the clip, a Fox Business correspondent reporting from Tel Aviv says: “I think at this hour, it’s fair to say that shuttle diplomacy is in high gear. Tehran is reportedly looking at the latest counter peace proposal from Washington. But at the center of all of this, we should mention, is Pakistan.” Pakistan’s interior minister had visited Tehran twice in less than a week to help with the talks — that repeated back-and-forth travel between capitals is the phrase in action. The phrase came into wide use in 1973–74 when US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger flew rapidly between Middle Eastern capitals after the Yom Kippur War. He would land in one city, hear their position, fly to another, carry the message, then fly back. The image stuck. Today you’ll see “shuttle diplomacy” in news coverage whenever a country, a diplomat, or the UN acts as a go-between — from peace talks in the Middle East to trade disputes in Asia. It always involves someone doing the travelling so the two main sides don’t have to meet directly.