Richard N. Haass Quotes

In order to have peace in the Middle East both sides are going to have to put away history and make a leap of faith.

We extend our hand towards peace. Our people are committed to peace. We know that peace entails painful compromise for both sides.

In Turkey, we have lived almost everything that could be lived; war and torture... The war concept was consumed to its limits. But there is only one way we have not tried: negotiations, peace, and talking.

Winning the peace is harder than winning the war.

There is no such thing as a conflict that cannot be ended.

This may not be a just peace, but it is more just than the continuation of war.

It is easier to make war than to make peace.

When we seek reconciliation with our enemies, it is commonly out of a desire to better our own condition, a being harassed and tired out with a state of war, and a fear of some ill accident which we are willing to prevent.

One doesn't make peace with one's friends. One makes peace with one's enemies.

Peace is a question of will. All conflicts can be settled, and there are no excuses for allowing them to become eternal.

In some ways, Israel has achieved a peace. There are fewer rockets being sent into Sderot, there are no rockets to speak of from the North, there has been very little terrorism from the West Bank. It's a kind of peace. I hope for a better and more enduring peace. Peace is not an endgame; we will never be completely at peace.

It is the hope of the European Union that Ariel Sharon will keep the peace process alive and continue the dialogue according to the wishes of all the parties involved.

I think placing preconditions before negotiations is the quickest way to undermine peace.

We call upon all sides to stop hostilities and restart peace talks.

I want to arrive at the possibility of peace with the Syrians, and when I believe that the conditions are right, I will not miss the opportunity.

I want to say a simple thing, that the dividing line exists not between Jordan and Israel, but between the proponents of peace and the opponents of peace.

Waging war we understand, but not waging peace, or at any rate less consciously so.

Peacemaking and peacekeeping should run in parallel.

Six years ago today war was declared. Now we are starting again with officially declared peace the world in physical and spiritual chaos. History in the making can be most exhausting.

We have had enough of meetings for meetings’ sake in the Middle East.

There are universal traits and aspects of all these conflicts, and I think that all of them have bridgeable solutions. The only question is whether you are ready to take the challenge, to pay the price, to compromise in order to get more. This, I believe, is the challenge for all the peacemakers in the world.

Conduct peace talks only with those among the Arabs residing in the Land of Israel who are truly willing to recognize the existence of the State of Israel. As to all those who want to continue the battle against Israel, it is incumbent upon us -- including, and above all, the Government and Prime Minister -- to obey the law and wage war against them until their demise.

It is easier to obstruct peace than it is to promote it.

There are no short cuts, no detours in the Middle East.

You can’t have peace without a war.