Richard Branson Quotes

To simply demand that Assad go, and create a vacuum, could make the circumstances worse. To 'protect' Assad and his brutality is unconscionable. So you have to have a transition period here.

Bashar al-Assad needs to be replaced, but he can't be replaced with another Bashar al-Assad.

The Egyptian military plays positive and negative roles in Egypt, but the most significant single thing it did under Mubarak was to guarantee an Islamist victory once he left the scene.

Some leaders think time will solve the problem. Their hope is that Assad's regime will ultimately fall from the heavy toll of the horrors it has spawned. From past experience with such regimes, this scenario is unlikely to happen.

I have sympathy for the people in Syria, and I do think there should be a worldwide response, but we should act cautiously.

I worry a little bit about - quote - "regime change." We haven't had a great deal of success with that in years. That's just really difficult.

We need a united front against Islamic State and Assad happens to be the decisive power that can fight them. But the situation is preposterous because we also have to respect the calls for change. I would be in favor of a dignified change.

We have always said there are two ways to resolve Syria, and both will end up with the same result: a Syria without Bashar Assad.

We do not deny the possibility of peaceful [political] transition, but we are still awaiting the first case.

We need to focus on destroying ISIL, but we shouldn't be the ones declaring that [Bashir] Assad must go.

When this government [Chiang Kaishek's] finally fell there was no one ready to teach the Chinese the human way of life.

I think those who have wanted regime [of Bashar Assad] change have made a mistake.

I personally think President [Hosni] Mubarak, who's done a lot for Egypt, should acknowledge that his time has come and step down right away.

In the fight against ISIL, we cannot rely on an Assad regime that terrorizes its people; a regime that will never regain the legitimacy it has lost. Instead, we must strengthen the opposition as the best counterweight to extremists like ISIL, while pursuing the political solution necessary to solve Syria's crisis once and for all.

Unless we establish some form of world government, it will not be possible for us to avert a World War III in the future.

There is no suggestion of regime change; quite the contrary, this is an initiative to help people and to help governments who are inclined toward change.

I consider even a victorious war as an evil, from which statesmanship must endeavor to spare nations.

I would only give a prize to whoever works for the peace in Syria, first of all by stopping the terrorists from flowing towards Syria, only.

It would be a huge mistake to abandon democracy promotion. Peaceful political change has been enormously successful in the past years in Eastern European countries as well as in countries like South Korea, South Africa, Chile and Indonesia. However, if possible, the use of force is something to avoid except in cases where genocide is threatened, like Bosnia or Libya or with regimes that threaten our security, like the Taliban and Saddam Hussein.

There is no national problem in the world today which cannot be resolved by reason alone.

It is very difficult to imagine that you can actually get rid of a dictatorship that has been there for 60 years only in 18 days.

With political means and always trying to work for political settlements and this is what I'm going to continue to work on with all my heart.

Why is war such an easy option? Why does peace remain such an elusive goal? We know statesmen skilled at waging war, but where are those dedicated enough to humanity to find a way to avoid war

[Hillary] Clinton is too much into regime change and a little bit too aggressive without knowing what the unintended consequences might be. Yes, we could get rid of Assad tomorrow, but that would create another political vacuum that would benefit ISIS.

We have the right to ensure our security, especially when it is possible to reach agreement on a political solution.