Angela Merkel Quotes

We have absolutely no intention of, or interest in, crossing Ukraine's borders.

There are both things in international law: the principle of territorial integrity and right to self-determination.

The world is full of nations that are part of the community of nations that don't respect rights.

I want to emphasize the fact that the independence of Kosovo should and will be recognized.

The international community unfortunately did take sides in Libya, and we would never allow the Security Council to authorise anything similar to what happened in Libya.

Well, there's been plenty of ultimatums, and one thing that we better be very clear is that we can't continue to have the kind of defiance of the United Nations, the defiance of the international community that we've had.

The standards of the international community manifest firmness. Iran has no need for long-range missiles or to collaborate with terrorist organizations all over the world.

The U.S.-led western alliance, while acting as an advocate of democracy, rule of law and human rights, is acting from the opposite position, rejecting the democratic principle of the sovereign right of states enshrined in the U.N. Charter and trying to decide for others what is good and what is bad.

Governments can expect to act multilaterally or unilaterally—but not have it both ways at the same time.

It is more difficult [for foreign governments] to ignore or defy a convention signed by 120 countries than a bilateral treaty with the United States.

When the U. S. Government violates International Law, that sets a precedent and provides an excuse for the rest of the world to do the same.

Newly emerging states are challenging settled opinion on transnational justice and humanitarian intervention, which they often interpret as victor’s justice and regime change.

There is an urgent necessity that our system of international law not allow heads of state to violate the fundamental rights of their citizens or their neighbor with impunity. But a consistently amoral U. S. foreign policy has made this necessity all the more difficult to address.

[Vladimir] Putin trampled on international rules and sovereignty of the Ukraine.

Well, I think both Russia and China have a very strong aversion to interference in internal affairs.

We should forcefully call out China whenever it violates international standards.

Whether [Turkey] is a NATO country or not, it doesn't have the right to invade any other country according to the international law or to any other moral value.

The values that we talked about, the values democracy and free speech and international norms and rule of law, respecting the ability of other countries to determine their own destiny and preserve their sovereignty and territorial integrity. Things are not something that we can set aside.

I'm very pleased this military engagement together with a political road map that we developed, we were able to continue. We want to bring about a political solution there. We worked very closely together [with Barack Obama] on the issue of annexation of Crimea and Russia's attempt to actually conquer Ukraine and actually, they did so, conquer part of the territory. We tried to come to a peaceful settlement here on this.

Of course one always has to follow international law. This was also the case in Crimea. According to the Charter of the United Nations, every people has the right to self-determination.

The statesmen still say that we should not interfere in the internal affairs of other nations and yet it is not possible any longer not to interfere, even when we do not mean to do so.

I am against preventive war because it means measures by the UN against us.

The United Nations has come under the control of outlaw nations and self-serving special interest groups.

There is a movement to get an international criminal court in the world, voted for by hundreds of states-but with the noticeable absence of the United States of America.

I have spent time discussing the American political system and current events in Taiwan with the junior diplomats, and they have repeatedly expressed their country's desire to avoid confrontation with China.