Emily Thornberry Quotes

The U.N. is much more than the case of Iraq.

If I correctly understand the goal of American policy, one wishes Russia to be a partner.

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

It is no exaggeration to say that Syria holds the key for nearly all of America's foreign policy goals in the Middle East. As Syria goes, so goes the region.

We have a model that we're following, and it's the Libya model.

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

The United States has dealt with the Middle East and surrounding regions for many decades in the context of the Cold War.

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

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

Every foreign policy has to have a moral purpose.

Multilateralism may be little more than a polite way of camouflaging what is in practice unilateralism with allies.

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

American foreign policy must uphold the sanctity of international treaties. That is the cornerstone on which all relations between nations must rest.

We [Iran and the United States] have a common destiny in this region [The Middle East].

We want the U.S. to have constructive and stable relations with China. That makes it much easier for us. Then we don't have to choose sides.

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

Defending human rights should be an important objective of foreign policy, and that, too, will sometimes be hard to reconcile with an economic agenda, especially when it comes to dealing with rich but repressive players like China and Russia.

There may be circumstances in which damaging our relationship with countries over human rights is counterproductive and the benefits to human rights may be very small because of our limited capacity to enforce our stance. That was the dilemma the United States faced after Tiananmen Square.

I do think that every super power on the globe has a very poor record on human rights.

In addition to deep divisions on issues such as trade, climate change, Middle East peace and nuclear weapons, Trump's attacks on leaders such as Trudeau and Merkel and disrespect for NATO and other institutions are prompting a reassessment by allied governments and publics.

I'm sorry that I can't snap my fingers and undo 50 years of bad American foreign policy.

Diplomacy is not an end in itself if it does not advance U.S. interests.

In international relations, in foreign policy, a great deal has to do with historical circumstances, a great deal has to do with the sense and perception of people.

I explained that we would like to adjust our position on the Syrian question to theirs, as, in our view, they are the decisive factor in our relations with our neighbors, and Syria is unimportant.

American foreign policy, for all its shortcomings, has underpinned political stability around the world.