Foreign Leaders
Page 10
- We will not recognize any results that come out of the Geneva 2 Conference, nor will the children or women of Syria do. Those taking part in the conference do not represent the people who sacrificed and shed blood. Besides, who has authorized them to represent the people? Those are confined to newsrooms. In reality, they have no presence on the ground.
- The mayor of Sochi is now saying that there are no gay people in Sochi. So the only thing that is flaming over there now is the Olympic torch.
- From an athlete’s perspective, to cancel the Olympics in regards to the threats would be absolutely devastating - especially since the Olympics - it’s really about people meeting together through sports and putting aside their countries’ differences for that time.
- Now that the Olympics are over, we need to watch the behavior of the Russians. And I believe the president needs to up his game and send a clear, unequivocal, public message to Putin not to interfere in what is happening in Ukraine.
- There is not an inherent contradiction between a Ukraine that has longstanding historic and cultural ties to Russia, and a modern Ukraine that wants to integrate more closely with Europe.
- Now, here's a good question: should serious people focus on global political instability – terrorism, failing states, nuclear weapons – or should we focus on global climate instability – droughts, floods, extreme weather? Here's the correct answer: yes, both, because climate disruption will make every other national security problem worse.
- At the moment, the U.S. is talking loudly and carrying a small stick. Economic sanctions and visa denials won’t impact Russia in serious ways, nor will they make Ukraine an economically viable and democratic country. Furthermore, Americans have no desire and no reason to go to war with Russia over Crimea.
- Far too often, the Ukrainian issue is posed as a showdown: whether Ukraine joins the East or the West. But if Ukraine is to survive and thrive, it must not be either side’s outpost against the other – it should function as a bridge between them.
- You can't treat Russia like a guilty schoolboy who has to put a cross on a piece of paper to show he has done his homework. That kind of language is unacceptable.
- [Putin] is a bully. And bullies only understand when we punch them in the nose, but we need to do that economically.
- We all accuse Vladimir Putin of Cold War nostalgia, but Washington’s elites — politicians and intellectuals — miss the old days as well. They wish for the world in which the United States was utterly dominant over its friends, its foes were to be shunned entirely, and the challenges were stark, moral, and vital. Today’s world is messy and complicated. China is one of our biggest trading partners and our looming geopolitical rival. Russia is a surly spoiler, but it has a globalized middle class and has created ties in Europe.
- There would be some price to pay for this country and our allies…But there is a huge price to pay for allowing aggressive bullying behavior to continue…History teaches us that we have to stand up to such bullying behavior from one state on to another.