Quotes About Diplomacy

You want your human adversaries to see the pain, but you do not want to hit them between the eyes with it. You soften the blow, so to speak, with nurturing.

The only agenda that is valid for purposes of negotiation is the one that has been negotiated with the adversary.

For decades, Japan has been a friend and reliable trading partner with the United States, and I anticipate that relationship will prosper.

When I was elected President nobody asked me to negotiate between Israel and Egypt. It was not even a question raised in my campaign. But I felt that one of the reasons that I was elected President was to try to bring peace to the Holy Land.

Ever since Israel has been a nation the United States has provided the leadership. Every president down to the ages has done this in a fairly balanced way, including George Bush senior, Gerald Ford, and others including myself and Bill Clinton.

My constant prayer, my number one foreign goal, is to bring peace to Israel. And in the process to Israel's neighbours.

We cannot be both the world's leading champion of peace and the world's leading supplier of the weapons of war.

We cannot be both the world's leading champion of peace and the world's leading supplier of the weapons of war.

Peace is better than war. There's too much glorification of war and not enough glorification of peace, and especially not enough glorification of the importance of the doves.

What better foundation for an alliance than mutual hatred and suspicion?

Fight your battles with words, not fists

If you face a delicate situation, don't go into it wearing your spurs or you'll rip it apart. Instead, dress for the occasion. Cloak yourself in diplomacy. Vest yourself in wisdom, and wear a smile.

Poor George, he can't help it—he was born with a silver foot in his mouth.

We need new partnerships in fighting terrorism and building peace.

We need new partnerships for peace and security.

Russians had not grudged it when the world war turned both the Atlantic and Pacific into 'American lakes,' but when these same Americans, who had taken all the oceans and who were building bases on their islands and shores, called Russia greedy for taking back what she formerly owned, this ranked.

George Bush, had he been around at the time, would undoubtedly have joined this chorus in favour of the status quo, his only contribution to Ukrainian independence being the infamous 'Chicken Kiev' speech of August 1991, in which he urged Ukrainians to stay loyal to the Soviet Union. But at least Bush knew Ukraine existed.

Today, Polish-Ukrainian relations are rather muted – surprisingly so given their long and scratchy common history.

The number of ethnic Poles left in Ukraine is tiny, and Poland has no leverage over Ukrainian affairs. Whereas Khmelnytsky tried to play off Muscovy against the Poles, today's Ukraine balances Russia against America.

Poland was the first country to give Ukraine diplomatic recognition, the day after the independence referendum of 1 December 1991.

A funny thing happens when the world turns, as it turned for us on the night we burned the British embassy down. You wake up the next morning and carry on.

But Johannes had said, "Politeness is something you owe other people, because when you show a little courtesy, everything becomes easier and better. But first and foremost, it's something you owe yourself. You are David.

She had a capacity for tact, but she was also extremely honest, and if tact and honesty conflicted on any important matter, the honesty won.

Est-ce que le prince Charles était réel pour moi ? Dîner royal, musique. Je pensais que cette « entente cordiale » du vieux monde serait peut-être un jour balayée par d'autres forces. Je songeais à l'URSS, à la Chine. Peut-être étions-nous semblables hier soir à ces gens de 1913 ou de 1938, dans ces mêmes salons dorés.