Quotes About Diplomacy

Sudan cannot afford to be on the wrong side of history. The north and south will have to work together, but will they?

Often, foreign policy - which, by definition, is largely out of American control - is simply a matter of not doing the wrong thing, the unwise thing.

Diplomacy is more than saying or doing the right things at the right time, it is avoiding saying or doing the wrong things at any time.

I don't want to offend nobody, and I don't rub anybody the wrong way. That's a part of growing up.

I don't want to be that guy that's either arrogant or rubs people the wrong way.

To be sure, China is nowhere as powerful as the U.S., but it has acquired the ability to impose its will on individual nations around the world. From Australia to Germany, South Africa to South Korea, political leaders are careful not to rub China the wrong way.

Sometimes I rub people the wrong way, although I'm very polite.

I don't know where Bush is going - yet. But, Sharon obviously - I wrote somewhere in the last several months, that Sharon has adopted, essentially, the position of the Labor Party: that the Palestinians are here to stay.

You want to change Saudi Arabia? You send something like WWE.

The understanding that the political and intellectual class of the United States has of Mexico is a country whose position is that of a back yard.

What vital U.S. interest is imperiled in who comes to power in Podgorica, Montenegro? Why cannot Europe handle this problem in its own back yard?

The predominant yardstick of your government is not human rights but national interests.

I met Bill Clinton; he's a very nice guy. Yeah, Bill Clinton's cool.

After four years at the United Nations I sometimes yearn for the peace and tranquility of a political convention.

There is no doubt that the people of Afghanistan have suffered for a long time. Generations have been lost to terrorism. We empathise with their yearning for peace.

Unlike Europe, China can't be intimidated. Europe backs down if the United States looks at it the wrong way. But China, they've been there for 3,000 years and are paying no attention to the barbarians and don't see any need to.

Fifty years of isolating Cuba had failed to promote democracy, setting us back in Latin America. That's why we restored diplomatic relations, opened the door to travel and commerce, and positioned ourselves to improve the lives of the Cuban people.

We are asking the nations of Europe between whom rivers of blood have flowed to forget the feuds of a thousand years.

For 2,500 years, India has never invaded anybody.

I've been involved in ties with elements in the Arab world for years now. They wish to establish relations with Israel, but they cannot do so while there is no peace process.

Without Kissinger's work in the Middle East, with Sadat especially, I doubt if the Camp David Agreements five years later would have happened. His achievements over detente, the seeds of trust he sowed in a very distrustful and hostile Moscow, helped over a long period.

We Europeans have a long tradition of cultural and economic relationship with Iran.

We often forget that Iran has a long tradition and history with the United States. Iranians have been coming to the United States as students for decades. American businessmen were in Iran developing the oil fields. ...There was an American financial advisor to the Iranian government in the early part of the century.

As Minister of Foreign Affairs. I will work on deepening Haiti's links with its traditional partners from the North and the South, while exploring all the opportunities for economic, cultural, scientific and technological cooperation that may benefit my country.