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We always have hoped that American diplomacy deploys itself in dialogue and persuasion rather than by ultimatums. That is the path we want in international relations.

It's a necessary quality of a diplomat or a politician that he will compromise. Uncompromising politicians or diplomats get you into the most terrible trouble.

Negotiation in the classic diplomatic sense assumes parties more anxious to agree than to disagree.

In a chaotic world, U.S. diplomats will probably have even less contact with the people they need to reach.

Negotiating in the classic diplomatic sense assumes parties more anxious to agree than to disagree.

Diplomats are just as essential to starting a war as soldiers are for finishing it... You take diplomacy out of war, and the thing would fall flat in a week.

I'm not always the most diplomatic person.

Modern diplomats approach every problem with an open mouth.

Diplomacy is fundamentally working with people, bringing people together to deal with difficult issues.

You aren't going to be successful as a diplomat if you don't understand the strategic context in which you are actually negotiating. It is not deal making. It's not.