JOSE MARIA AZNAR

We in the West should stand by our core principles.

I am a quiet man who grows through adversity.

There is no possible negotiation with these killers. Our aim is to win over terrorism. Only by being firm we can stop terrorism. We must be firm fighting the terrorists and opposing the final aims they want to achieve.

But, you know, once you're in government, very often you need to shoulder responsibility. I hope the new Spanish government will think about this and will therefore act accordingly. I really and sincerely hope so.

Young people in particular need real options to find a decent job and to lift their lives. I'm not sure the new Islamist governments will be the best to promote prosperity and growth.

I want to highlight once again that when we talk about the fight against terrorism and the circles around it and when we talk about ensuring the safety and the peace of all, we are not talking about fantasies.

Every day, every week without taking decisions is a problem for us, is a very wrong message for the markets and increases the lack of credibility of our economies.

It's about living in a world with rules, or a world without rules.

We insist that the international community cannot depend on any country with weapons of mass destruction which has relations with terrorists, and which allows itself the luxury of not respecting the law and of defying the international community.

In crises, the old is dying and the new has not been born. Hence, the revolts we are witnessing in Egypt and Tunisia, which may yet extend to other countries in the region, are full of uncertainties.

March 11, 2004, now occupies a place in the history of infamy.

We saw there was no consensus in the U.N. Security Council. It was impossible, due to the threatened veto by some.

Speak less but act more.

The only message that terrorists need to get is that they're going to be beaten.

There are the countries of the north of Europe taking decisions and the countries of the south of Europe that are living under intervention. This division exists.

It is our grave mistake that for many years we neglected pro-Western groups in order to avoid any friction with the existing rulers.

My conviction is that the best strategy to defend the West is to defend Israel.

Appeasement was never a very clever policy, and it should not be our option today.

Without economic development, any potential for political openness and freedom will be questionable.

The alliance should agree... to an effective NATO role against the new threats presented by international terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.

The harm done to Israel is damage done to the West. And delegitimizing Israel is a delegitimization of the West.

I'm not going to give President Bush any advice. He knows. He knows what I think.

Disarming Iraq is legal under a series of U.N. resolutions. Iraq is in flagrant violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Because the task of a political leader is to do what he believes is better for his country. Sometimes the public opinion is in favor; sometimes the public opinion needs a little bit more time to understand things.

There are countries that prefer to think that they're buying comfort at the cost of others, but I don't think that's the way you can act in this world. There are no neutral groups.