Top 761 Quotes & Sayings by Famous Diplomats

Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was.

Nationalism is a tool increasingly used by leaders to bolster their authority, especially amid difficult economic and political conditions.

If you don't want war, then you had better be an advocate for diplomacy with muscle.

When all the world appears to be in a tumult, and nature itself is feeling the assault of climate change, the seasons retain their essential rhythm. Yes, fall gives us a premonition of winter, but then, winter, will be forced to relent, once again, to the new beginnings of soft greens, longer light, and the sweet air of spring.

We have absolutely no intention of, or interest in, crossing Ukraine's borders.

Nationalism is like cheap alcohol. First it makes you drunk, then it makes you blind, then it kills you.

We have war when at least one of the parties to a conflict wants something more than it wants peace.

There's always the temptation, as a cinematographer, to make the shot look as perfect as possible.

Black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love.

We cannot prevent hurricanes or earthquakes, floods or volcanic eruptions. But we can ensure that both people and communities are better prepared and more resilient.

Every country has the government it deserves.

We need strong gun laws. How can people even ask a question about it? Gun control is so important.

You never get quite down to the bottom of the barrel, but we are much higher than that at the present time. There is quite a lot left in the barrel that could be explained by them. If they have some weapons, if they have some anthrax, they should deliver that.

The age in which we live can only be characterized as one of barbarism. Our civilization is in the process not only of being militarized, but also being brutalized.

Don't love deeply, till you make sure that the other part loves you with the same depth, because the depth of your love today, is the depth of your wound tomorrow.

Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong.

One nuclear war is going to be the last nuclear - the last war, frankly, if it really gets out of hand. And I just don't think we ought to be prepared to accept that sort of thing.

Men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all the other alternatives.

I often ask myself, 'Why is it that most of the lies come out of Islamic countries, and why is it that most of the social corruptions are in the Middle East and in these Islamic countries?' The answer is, when you control something, when you suppress something, people try to do it another way.

This is the first time in the history of mankind that we are setting ourselves the task of intentionally, within a defined period of time to change the economic development model that has been reigning for at least 150 years, since the industrial revolution. That will not happen overnight and it will not happen at a single conference on climate change, be it COP 15, 21, 40 - you choose the number. It just does not occur like that. It is a process, because of the depth of the transformation.

The world is divided into three kinds of people: A very small group that makes things happen; a somewhat larger group that watches things happen; and a great multitude that never knows what has happened.

Any agreement that you have isn't going to be based on North Korea's intentions or trust.

I do not think that war is always wrong: sometimes it is necessary to stop a dictator, prevent massive human-rights abuses, or expel an invader. But I have also seen that in the modern world, civil wars are the greatest threat to humanitarian security.

Upon the Constitution, upon the pre-existing legal rights of the People, as understood in this country and in England, I have argued that this House is bound to revive the Petition under debate.

The best way to persuade people is with your ears - by listening to them.

The cardinal doctrine of a fanatic's creed is that his enemies are the enemies of God.

To make our way, we must have firm resolve, persistence, tenacity. We must gear ourselves to work hard all the way. We can never let up.

I was never the diplomatic diplomat.

The Chinese leadership hoped that the world would soon forget the Tiananmen Square massacre. Our job in Congress is to ensure that we never forget those who lost their lives in Tiananmen Square that day or the pro-democracy cause for which they fought.

My knowledge of myself is direct, synthetic, from within outwards; my knowledge of other persons is indirect, analytical, from outside inwards. My knowledge of myself starts at the core; that of others at the crust.

If you want to be a real human being - a real woman, a real man - you cannot tolerate things which put you to indignation, to outrage. You must stand up. I always say to people, 'Look around; look at what makes you unhappy, what makes you furious, and then engage yourself in some action.'

Each blockage is a blockage. Each impasse is an impasse. You have to find a solution; there is no recipe that fits each one of them.

A diplomatic mission, like a company, is comprised of multiple departments, all of which must be relied upon to move business forward.

Globalisation will make our societies more creative and prosperous, but also more vulnerable.

Successful diplomacy is an alignment of objectives and means.

Turkey is a European country, an Asian country, a Middle Eastern country, Balkan country, Caucasian country, neighbor to Africa, Black Sea country, Caspian Sea, all these.

I don't think that the fundamental issue between India and Pakistan is Kashmir, OK.

Between an uncontrolled escalation and passivity, there is a demanding road of responsibility that we must follow.

Diplomacy is fundamentally working with people, bringing people together to deal with difficult issues.

We believe that the vote would have been close. We regret that in the face of an explicit threat to veto by a permanent member, the vote-counting became a secondary consideration.

It is well known that Turkey has more imprisoned journalists than any other country, but as a result of the chilling effect of these prosecutions on the press, many stories never make the news.

In war and in peace, in prosperity and times of economic hardship, America has no better friend or more dependable ally than the United Kingdom.

Be careful in dealing with a man who cares nothing for comfort or promotion, but is simply determined to do what he believes to be right. He is a dangerous uncomfortable enemy, because his body, which you can always conquer, gives you little purchase upon his soul.

Production is the only answer to inflation.

Education was not merely a means for earning a living or an instrument for the acquisition of wealth. It was an initiation into the life of spirit, a training of the human soul in the pursuit of truth and the practice of virtue.

Death can sneak up on you like a silent kitten, surprising you with its touch and you have a right to act surprised. Other times death stomps in the front door, unwanted and unannounced, and makes its noisy way to your seat on the sofa.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

The NATO alliance is not just a transactional relationship, once again. That alliance serves our interests. That alliance has been critical to keeping security in Europe, so that we do not face another world war.

The most successful cultural diplomacy strategy integrates people-to-people or arts/culture/media-to-people interactions into the basic business of diplomacy. The programs in Afghanistan, Egypt, and Iran all contribute to core goals of U.S. policy in those countries.

Obvious effort is the antithesis of grace.

It is enough for a poet to be the guilty conscience of his age.

We shall tax and tax, and spend and spend, and elect and elect.

We got the Iran sanctions done. We got an agreement by Russia to allow us to use Afghanistan to transit supplies for our forces. We got a Security Council resolution on Libya. We got Russia into the WTO to bring in to it a rules-based trading system. All of those things were in our interest. The point is not whether we should work with Russia. The point is whether we should sacrifice other important interests to do so.

We find it difficult to comprehend, and we deeply regret the decision as it is discriminatory in the sense that it targeted certain countries without a clear reason.

I think the issue that concerns us is certainly regaining stability, but issues of human rights are an integral part of our reform policies, of our new constitution.

I wish to call on you to join hands in the building of a world in which less people will be forced to flee, and in which refugees are protected until they can safely return home one day.

Ensuring the access of all citizens to government information and to essential information for human development is a must for every democratic society.

A leader knows what's best to do; a manager knows merely how best to do it.

Without passion, nothing happens; without compassion, the wrong things happen.

Truth exists. The sole purpose of this proposition is to assert the existence of truth against imbeciles and sceptics.