Elliott Abrams Quotes

When Prime Minister Erdogan came to Washington in 2009, he sounded almost like the ambassador from Iran.

I want you to know what I have told Australia's Parliament in Canberra - what I told General Petraeus in Kabul - what I told President Obama in the Oval Office this week. Australia will stand firm with our ally the United States.

I have great satisfaction in stating that our relations with France, Russia, and other powers continue on the most friendly basis.

There is a sense in which the United States ambassador speaks to the United States, as well as for the United States. I have always seen my role as a thermostat rather than a thermometer. So I'm going to be actively working... for my own concerns. I have always had people advise me on what to say, but never on what not to say.

Harmonious relations with a superpower like America should be a priority, but it does not mean that one should start begging from it.

The U.S.-Israel relationship is so important.

The bilateral relationship is unshakable, but playing politics with that relationship could blunt Secretary Kerry's enthusiasm for being Israel's primary defender.

Mohammed bin Salman is deputy Crown Prince, but this is not so important. He is a very active statesman, we have really warm relations. This is a person who knows what he wants and can achieve his goals. At the same time I consider him to be a reliable partner with whom one can negotiate and be sure that agreements with him will be implemented.

Saudi Arabia cannot go pedal-to-the-metal on the way toward Sharia, although some might say they’re there, because they have a relationship with the United States that must continue. And they can’t make that relationship difficult for the US, so they moderate, and therefore they proceed...

I was working with a number of African heads of state. And after their initial surprise, I think many of them just treated me as they would anybody else. They had to deal with me as a representative of the United States of America, and the United States of America was too important to be dismissed or ignored on any grounds.

It is hard to cement any relations with any country based on promises that may not be deliverable.

As far as my relationship with President Putin is concerned, it's fine.

If I correctly understand the goal of American policy, one wishes Russia to be a partner.

So for mutual interest, I do want American presence in this region.

Israel's willingness to cooperate closely with the U.S. in protecting American interests in the region altered her image in the eyes of many officials in Washington.

As the United States shapes and carries out its policies toward Muslim countries, it should do so with Turkey at its side.

I won't let any ambassador have a say about my foreign travels.

American-French relations, their pitch and volume, have always been influenced by the media.

It was the view of the people in the Department of State that the handling of Yemen affairs from Aden was too much of a burden on the then Consul, so an additional officer was named to the American Consulate at Aden to handle Yemeni affairs. I was designated for that task.

Putin has a lot at stake here and restoring the relationship with the United States, and there are already signs as Sandy mentioned that he's moving in the right direction to begin to ascertain that their trade with Iran is not used for the production of nuclear weapons.

With European powers no new subjects of difficulty have arisen, and those which were under discussion, although not terminated, do not present a more unfavorable aspect for the future preservation of that good understanding which it has ever been our desire to cultivate.

So China will be having to make some choices as to whose side it wants to be on. Hopefully, this will be the beginning of a major improvement in our relationship with them, if they choose correctly.

Israel has always been pro-American. Israel will always be pro-American.

My diplomatic position will not consist of going and kneeling down in front of George Bush.

The bonds of trust between the United States and Israel have been frayed, but even the hostility and disrespect the Obama administration has shown has not severed those bonds.