Despite the seemingly ______ nature of the negotiations, the diplomats managed to forge a durable peace agreement, defying all expectations. Which pair of words, when inserted into the blank, best completes the sentence to produce two sentences alike in meaning?

The correct answer to the question "Despite the seemingly ______ nature of the negotiations, the diplomats managed to forge a durable peace agreement, defying all expectations. Which pair of words, when inserted into the blank, best completes the sentence to produce two sentences alike in meaning?" is Option B: intractable, obdurate.

The other options — A) facile, tractable, C) amenable, flexible, D) specious, deceptive — are incorrect for this GRE Exam Prep question. As explained above: The phrase 'defying all expectations' suggests the negotiations were surprisingly successful despite inherent difficulties. 'Intractable' and 'obdurate' both mean difficult to manage, control, or per…