Kjell Magne Bondevik Quotes

Every government is in some respects a problem for every other government.

In the '80s, we at least had the idea of diplomacy.

There are nearly 200 countries and a population of over 6 billion in today's world. International affairs should be addressed by all countries through consultations rather than monopolised by a few powers.

Unilateral preemption should not in any way be the model for how we conduct international relations.

In a world where global politics is no longer a zero-sum game, it is - or should be - counterintuitive to pursue one's interests without considering the interests of others.

I don't know that there is much the United States can do except work with the international community.

I wish we could begin a new period of normal relations with the government of the United States.

The clever, albeit fragile, coalition against terrorism brought together by the U.S. government might be able to advance the transition from classical international law to a cosmopolitan order.

The links between the American government and the Iraqi government are so close that you cannot judge one without asking at least the other what he has done by this time.

We welcome, we welcome this good cooperation between Russia and NATO.

Of course the United States and Russia have different interests. Nevertheless, both are strategic partners.

I very much hope that the United States will finally... realise that they can no longer act as the prosecutor, the judge, and the executioner in every part of the world and that they need to cooperate to resolve issues.

The birth of the African Union should encourage us to reexamine relations between African States.

Such highly qualitative leadership is demanded especially in the realm of the fostering of right international relations. Here the demand is simply irresistible.

I don’t talk to countries that exhibit bad behavior.

There is one condition for us to have healthy relations with the United States. It's called respect.

Never in all the long years of strife and struggle has a parliamentary conduct of international affairs been successful.

All foreign policy is the intervention of one nation's domestic politics into another nation's domestic politics.

While pursuing its own interests, a country should accommodate the legitimate interests of others.

The situation that exists among nations in their relations to one another is such that it tempts even those who ordinarily come far short of cynicism to say that there is no connection between ethics and international relations.

Even allies don’t share every single interest that you have. That’s a law of nature in the international system. They will tell you most of what you need to know but there may be some things that they don’t tell you that you need to know in order to formulate your policy as wisely as you can.

I do believe that the international community cannot act based on a rivalries or things of that sort.

I am totally committed to the cooperation between the African Union and the United Nations.

China and the U.S. need each other very badly. Yes, we should argue about some things, but it's not an 'us versus them,' it's an 'us and them' type scenario.

Putin responds to threats, to illegal sanctions, and to incessant propaganda with statements that governments need to respect each other's national interests and to work together for common benefit. No politician in the West speaks in this way.