A good deal of modern diplomacy is conducted through video and phone calls, but crunch moments are usually in person. I remember watching Angela Merkel at a European Council, going round the room, dashing out to consult her officials and writing new draft text herself, all while Silvio Berlusconi sat through proceedings with his eyes closed. And people wonder why the Germans often get their way.
At one Lancaster House summit I only got a group of African presidents to sign the Elephant Protection Initiative, a small but worthwhile agreement, by corralling them in a room, delaying another meeting they were scheduled to attend, locking a back door and telling one head of state he could not go to the toilet. Diplomacy is a contact