Top 761 Quotes & Sayings by Famous Diplomats - Page 11

Continuity does not rule out fresh approaches to fresh situations.

We were eyeball-to-eyeball and the other fellow just blinked.

A world to be born under your footsteps.

There's a sense that we've obtained from various quarters in the Security Council that the notion of an international tribunal is not really practical. Certainly Indonesia is not convinced, and we get a sense that the rest of the Security Council will need to be convinced about the recommendations.

What we did say is that it is up to the Syrians themselves to decide how to run the country, how to introduce the reforms, what kind reforms, without any outside interference.

There can be no real individual freedom in the presence of economic insecurity.

it is inconceivable that poverty eradication can make much headway in the absence of major advances in literacy.

I agree with the many who consider freezing all sorts of weapons systems a first step in a realistic disarmament policy.

I come from a fragmented society. A country proud to serve as a bridge between Europe and Asia yet unable to bridge its own differences.

As an American, you appreciate the importance of our security alliance, the importance of the economic ties between our two countries, and while I knew of the two bonds between our two people, until I came here, I didn't really appreciate how deep the people-to-people connections are between the American people and the Japanese people.

The Iran nuclear issue is on top of the agenda. It is a very complicated issue with long history.

I have discovered a universal rule which seems to apply more than any other in all human actions or words: namely, to steer away from affectation at all costs, as if it were a rough and dangerous reef, and (to use perhaps a novel word for it) to practise in all things a certain nonchalance [sprezzatura] which conceals all artistry and makes whatever one says or does seem uncontrived and effortless.

When the United Nations was born it was believed to be a positive instrument for peace. From this exalted position it became an organization in which nations would at least keep talking instead of shooting. Soon it was discovered ... that words were as deadly as any weapon, and when these words had a number of interpretations they could and did lead to conflict.

Priority is placed on the chastity of women. You can be corrupt, or a murderer and still hold your head up high on the street without problems, whereas if there are any suspicions of your chastity and moral behaviour as a woman, you get lynched.

Realism is important in foreign policy. You have to be realistic about what you can achieve, and about the pitfalls, and problems along the way, of which there are plenty. Nothing is easy. It's always rough.

Desert Storm II would be in a walk in the park... The case for 'regime change' boils down to the huge benefits and modest costs of liberating Iraq.

We see the world through the lens of all our experiences; that is a fundamental part of the human condition.

Government is too big and important to be left to the politicians.

Coming from the industry and maintaining contacts with producers and directors, I am very well aware that costs associated with movie production are a major factor in determining where films get made.

The inventions and the great discoveries have opened up whole continents to reciprocal communication and interchange, provided we are willing.

The pride of dying rich raises the loudest laugh in hell.

Video games seem to be mostly a boy thing - viewed by young boys and created by big boys. I believe that if more videos games were created by women, the violence in these games - especially against women - would be rapidly toned down.

Diplomacy can and will matter; little is inevitable in international relations.

I don't agree that you need an enormous number of American troops. Saddam's army is down to one-third than it was before, and I think it would be a cakewalk.

Japan needs to cooperate with China economically. This is understood better by the business community than the government.

The government believed that adherence to authority was human nature, so the Gezi protests were a real surprise to them. After the initial moment of shock, they decided to severely punish those participating in what they called an act of disobedience to authority.

And so there has been a lot of diplomatic movement.

You know it's easy to say you shouldn't do something and then something happens and you say, 'Wow, I wish I would have done something.

Sermons seldom convert sinners; they sometimes goad them into more sin.

Our resolution urges all Latin American and Caribbean countries to designate al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad as terrorist organizations.

Insurgents have capitalized on popular resentment and anger towards the United States and the Iraqi government to build their own political, financial and military support, and the faith of Iraqi citizens in their new government has been severely undermined.

Many Europeans are concerned that stronger sanctions are a slippery slope toward war unless the U.S. is at the table.

This is the great thing about my friends over at Lucasfilm: They are so committed to the highest quality product that they allow their DPs to come on well in advance of the shoot.

We are optimistic, but we are optimistic in a cautious fashion.

I declare and protest in advance, that I do not intend, at this time at least; to be drawn or driven into the question of slavery, in either of its subdivisions or forms.

David Cameron has a different style to Gordon Brown.

The difference between a good shot and bad shot can be an inch to the left.

You can have all of the laws and protection in place, but how do you get rid of homophobia? This is something that the U.S. is going to have to deal with.

My job is to prioritize multi-lateralism, and that of course interests Brazil, which is a global player. I'm representing 159 members, and one of them happens to be Brazil.

I don't know what a scoundrel is like, but I know what a respectable man is like, and it's enough to make one's flesh creep.

Astronomers have been bewildered by the theory of an expanding universe, but there is no less expansion in the moral infinite of the universe of man. As far as the frontiers of science are pushed back, over the extended arc of these frontiers one will hear the poet's hounds on the chase.

Our work must remain open and transparent so that we hear the voices of all

Considering how bad men are, it is wonderful how well they behave.

When Barack Obama was running for president, he committed to leading the United Nations and other countries towards a common global goal. Obama believed that he could speak to allies and dictators directly and charm them into seeing the error of their ways.

Days will pass, and you’ll abandon things you were addicted to, and leave someone, and cancel a dream, and finally, accept a reality.

I thank God that I live in a country where dreams can come true, where failure sometimes is the first step to success and where success is only another form of failure if we forget what our priorities should be.

I'm passionate about politics.

I did not support the U.S. decision to intervene with military force in Libya. The evidence was not persuasive that a large-scale massacre or genocide was either likely or imminent. Policies other than military intervention were never given a full chance.

There`s no end to the brutality of this regime, but it`s pretty clear this Kim Jong-un is not quite consolidated in power quite yet.

Difficulties, opposition, criticism-these things are meant to be overcome, and there is a special joy in facing them and in coming out on top. It is only when there is nothing but praise that life loses its charm and I begin to wonder what I should do about it.

Trade liberalization can be contagious, and the opening of markets regionally can spark progress multilaterally as well.

What I can't quite see at this stage is that the evidence, even to the president, seems to be that clear. And if it is that clear, I can't understand why we are not capable of convincing our closest allies that given that evidence, they ought to join us in this effort.

The world should contemplate a nuclear weapons-armed Iran with the greatest of concern.

And don't confound the language of the nation with long-tail'd words in osity and ation.

Until we have created a romance of peace that would equal that of war, violence will not disappear from people's lives.

If only the authorities could be made to realize that the forces leading them on in the armament race are just insane.

Solidarity was the movement that turned the direction of history, I think.

Where words can be translated into equivalent words, the style of an original can be closely followed; but no translation which aims at being written in normal English can reproduce the style of Aristotle.

I don`t think it`s crazy to think Kim Jong-un would use his weapons or certainly to use the weapons to try to get his, get his neighbors to do something they don`t want to do. I mean, he is not above blackmail.

Peace is no mere matter of men fighting or not fighting. Peace, to have meaning for many who have known only suffering in both peace and war, must be translated into bread or rice, shelter, health, and education, as well as freedom and human dignity - a steadily better life. If peace is to be secure, long-suffering and long-starved, forgotten peoples of the world, the underprivileged and the undernourished, must begin to realize without delay the promise of a new day and a new life.