Quotes About Diplomacy

The English have discovered pacific war. We may not be able to kill people as well as the French, or fit out and feed distant armaments as neatly as they do; but we are unrivalled at a quiet armament here at home which never kills anybody, and never wants to be sent anywhere.

Nations touch at their summits.

America has a rap sheet. You can't police the world and tell the world how to act when you're just as bad yourself.

I think I have a good rapport with the American government.

Economic sanctions rarely achieve the desired results.

I must say I've rarely been described as 'diplomat.'

During the early 1990s, Mexico's domestic political sensitivities meant that it rarely extradited people who had committed crimes in the U.S. After NAFTA, extradition numbers began to increase until they surpassed 100 a year in the late 2000s.

The U.S. berates China for its exchange rate policy, which Washington doesn't like. But one-sided pressure on China to change its exchange rate is misplaced.

Kim Jong-un is not a rational person.

We are convinced that locking Russia out of Europe is not rational.

I think that most people believe that Russia, because of its - it has regained some of its military strength. And they do rattle the saber a bit. It wants to be a player.

If a nation wants to live in peace with its neighbors, it doesn't keep rattling the saber at them.

My own view would be to let Saddam bluster, let him rant and rave all he wants. As long as he behaves himself within his own borders, we should not be addressing any attack or resources against him.

We need more foreign reach; no question about that. And we're working on getting that. We need more people abroad; we need some more bureaus. That is really an important job.

More than four decades after Nixon met Mao, the relationship between the U.S. and China has reached a pivotal moment. To date, even as China has become more powerful and present in our lives, Americans have generally found it to be an unsatisfying 'enemy.'

I'll be reaching across the aisle to find opportunities to work with Democrats on the issues that desperately need to be addressed.

The fact that there were discreet channels of communication established with Iran in 2012 is something that we confirmed publicly. However, we did not have any serious prospect of reaching a nuclear deal until after the election of Hassan Rouhani in 2013. Yes, we had discussions with the Iranians before that, but they did not get anywhere.

Give Hamas 90 days to pick a lane, then react.

The point of departure of the process to which we wish to contribute is the fact that war is the natural reaction of human nature in the savage state, while peace is the result of acquired characteristics.

Gentlemen don't read each other's mail.

I directed the men in our barque to approach near the savages, and hold their arms in readiness to do their duty in case they notice any movement of these people against us.

One month, two months, I am ready to accept any accord on this point that has the approval of the inspectors.

It was during the Reagan years that defiance of international law and the U.N. Charter became entirely open.

I believe that Reagan's a radical on arms control.