20th-century President Quotes

It is not possible to cover over a thing like this, whatever is necessary will be done... It is routine for jet fighters to sometimes fly in and out over (national) borders... when you consider their speed over the sea... These are not ill-intentioned things but happen beyond control due to the jets' speed.

I am deeply disturbed by the senseless violence instigated by some leaders in pursuit of their personal political agenda.

A country of our size, with its focus on exports and thus reliance on foreign trade, must be aware that … military deployments are necessary in an emergency to protect our interests — for example when it comes to trade routes, for example when it comes to preventing regional instabilities that could negatively influence our trade, jobs and incomes.

I prefer to march on my feet than to live on my knees before a military dictatorship.

I am excited that Tanzania is the only country out of 53 African nations to host the relay. This is a rare opportunity for our nation and a challenge for the government and the people to promote sports.

Ali Mohamed Shein

Terrorists are insane people, clothes also can change one's thoughts sometimes. When we were searching for prisoners who had escaped a detention centre, Melis Turganbayev (the former interior minister) came to me and said that they had been eavesdropping on telephone conversations of wives and mistresses of criminals. Their wives and mistresses wore sacks on their heads and they wanted to organise bombings. If you do not like Kyrgyzstan you can leave our country and go wherever you want. We can pay your travel expenses, even to Syria.

Almazbek Atambayev

Mr. President and I also had direct and open exchange of views on a matter that we may differ, especially on matters related to religion and human rights. And our approach is that we would increase our dialogue in order to have a better understanding of each other. And we are also determined not to let those differences afflict our overall, larger interest.

Nguyen Minh Triet

People ask me what does the Celtic Tiger look like; it looks like this place.

Visiting Clonaslee in Co. Laois

There is no such thing as a perfect leader either in the past or present, in China or elsewhere. If there is one, he is only pretending, like a pig inserting scallions into its nose in an effort to look like an elephant.

On being accused of rigging the election:

You won the elections, but I won the count.

Anastasio Somoza

The drug trade does not function well with a strong state, or a healthy state. It tries to corrupt the police force, it tries to corrupt the judiciary, and the executive. And drug trafficking thrives in a weak state.

Women receive easily the most difficult assignments.

Turkmenistan has always welcomed the expansion of relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran in all areas, and our independent policy in the world is conducive to the expansion of relations and cooperation between the two countries.

Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov

What's the difference between a Republican and a Democrat? There is a greater difference between what I think in the morning and what I think in the afternoon than between those two parties.

Ours is not a poor country and even though we are now a poor people, there should be no room for the despondency that has settled on large sections of the population.

It has been thought, correctly and nicely, that everyone who is in peril will be helped. Practically this is implemented in the way that everyone who can say the word "asylum" is allowed to enter Europe and Finland, that word creates a subjective right to cross the border. Even for no proper reason, one gets a full investigation that lasts years, and if the preconditions for an asylum are not met, one can avoid coercive measures and thus stay in the country which he entered wrongly.

Sauli Niinistö

Culture is a more effective weapon than guns for the purpose of domination. For it was scientific, technical and technological culture which produced the guns. The prerequisite of any domination, exploitation and oppression is the denial to the oppressed man or people of his or their human attributes and therefore, in the first instance, cultural activities.

Ahmed Sékou Touré

We all with faith, goodwill and purpose consider mankind our greatest challenge!

William R. Tolbert Jr.

What is happening and what may happen in the Nagorno-Karabakh and all the occupied lands is our internal affair. No international organization or country can interfere with our internal affair

One must not be provoked when someone provokes him.

Putin rejected the diplomatic path and chose the path of war. We will take full responsibility for defending the sovereignty of our allies.

Emmanuel Macron

How could we justify to the rest of the world imposing martial law on our capital?

When the Beijing Party Commission had proposed imposing martial law after the Tiananmen Square protests

Western capitalism really does want to see turmoil in China. And not only that; they'd like to see turmoil in the Soviet Union and all the socialist countries of Eastern Europe.

It is difficult to be president of Brazil because it is a president that has less authority. I am fulfilling a mission from God.

In Venezuela, nobody dares to mount a coup d'etat. Here, the people defend the revolution, democracy, sovereignty and the constitution.

Nicolás Maduro