Margaret Thatcher Quotes

Well, the thing that I learned as a diplomat is that human relations ultimately make a huge difference.

Sanctions and negotiations can be very ineffective, and indeed foolish, unless the people you are talking with and negotiating with and trying to reach agreements with are people who can be trusted to keep their word.

I like Mr. Gorbachev; we can do business together.

Whoever said “Keep your enemies close” didn’t have many enemies.

When I was negotiating with our foreign allies, I knew I had to do so in good faith, or trust would be broken - and those allies wouldn't be there when we really needed them.

When we come to the table, we shouldn't negotiate right away. We should spend time walking together, eating together, making acquaintance, telling each other about our own suffering, without blame or condemnation. It takes maybe one, two, three weeks to do that. And if communication and understanding are possible, negotiation will be easier. So if I am to organize a peace negotiation, I will organize it in that way.

I love to negotiate things, I do it really well, and all that stuff. But it's possible I won't be able to get along with Putin.

Diplomacy is the art of telling plain truths without giving offense.

Diplomats do not know how to negotiate, they only know how to keep their job.

Compromise is the door through which deception enters.

Both President Kennedy and President Reagan were roundly criticized by parts of the foreign policy establishment that felt they were being weak by engaging our adversaries. So some of it is built into a political lexicon that makes you sound tougher if you don't talk to somebody, and rather, very loudly, wield a big stick.

Notably, it was only possible [ negotiating on the Tarabarov Island], and this is very important, due to the high level of trust Russia and China reached in their relations by that time. If we reach the same level of trust with Japan, we might be able to reach certain compromises.

Other people have to understand where we are coming from, including our allies. Our allies have taken advantage of us.

Ronald Reagan reached out to Gorbachev. At the same time, we were pushing back against the Soviets all over the world. He was able to do two things at once, and it worked out very well for us.

Diplomacy is the velvet glove that cloaks the fist of power.

I'm not going to Russia and tell them to go to hell and think - that's not the way things are done. You chip away at something and you hope that there will be dialogue and that the situation can get better. You don't just go in there with guns blazing and say well, to hell with you because they're going to say to hell with you and get out of the country.

A really good diplomat does not go in for victories, even when he wins them.

Maybe I'm not going to be able to do a deal with Russia, but at least I will have tried. And if I don't, does anybody really think that Hillary Clinton would be tougher on Russia than Donald Trump?

Diplomacy is the art of telling people to go to hell in such a way that they ask for directions.

Only professional diplomats, inveterate idiots and women view diplomacy as a long-term substitute for war.

In several speeches and interviews, Donald Trump has brought up his book 'The Art of the Deal,' and said that Obama would have negotiated a better deal with Iran if he had read it. It got even more awkward for Obama when Iran was like, 'It worked for us - you guys got screwed!'

The only treaties that ought to count are those which would effect a settlement between ulterior motives.

If the United States is accommodating, the North Koreans become accommodating. If the United States is hostile, they become hostile.

I think we can't be naive in dealing with the Russians or dealing with the Syrians. But at the same time, I think we could try to encourage - and I think this is what diplomacy should do - encourage the self-interests of all parties to believe that it is in their best interest to get evil actors or rogue actors such as Syria or Iran, if you try to have less belligerent and less bellicose behavior.

I've dealt with politicians my entire life. You never make a bad deal with a politician. They're so easy.