Jack Straw Quotations | Page 2

We don't have to make a decision today about this. I think the appropriate place for that to be announced is to the British parliament and there'll be a statement from me in exactly a week's time when parliament reassembles.

The overall result is less than we hoped but more than we expected.

We have looked at the letter very carefully. The Iranians are under an obligation to respond positively to the resolution of the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency ... and we look to them to do that,

We agreed that it is not possible for ministers to order the judiciary around.

The proposals from the presidency are not acceptable to us,

This (stand-off) will not be resolved by military means, let's be clear about that,

This spirit of cooperation will, I hope, lead to many more measures that will benefit all in the region.

The demands they have made could not be met without great damage to jobs and industry, to essential services ... to pensioners and children,

The day will put a particular emphasis on educating people of all ages about the lessons to be learnt from genocide.

The fact that the Government is supporting pilgrims on the Hajj highlights the extent to which we in Britain live in a truly multi-cultural multi-religious society. No other Western country provides this kind of delegation.

The fact that terrorists have yet again targeted not U.S. or UK troops but an international organization... shows the depth of depravity to which they stoop.

The fact that some of these Arab states are willing to make this public is heartening, and it's a fair response to the Sharon government for the courage which the Sharon government has shown in moving out of Gaza and those four West Bank settlements,

We should take stock on Iran and discuss how we might best pursue the nuclear file over the coming weeks, ... This might also be an opportunity to discuss what Iran's new government and its breaking of the Paris Agreement means for EU-Iran relations over the coming months.

We should take stock of Iran and discuss how we might best pursue the nuclear file over the coming weeks,

We left the door open for further diplomatic action with Iran. And I hope they take this opportunity,

There are now discussions taking place on other aspects of the negotiating framework, principally on this issue about absorption capacity and privileged partnership,

We owe it to his memory and the memory of so many other people who have been killed in the Lebanon, lost all their livelihoods, to ensure there is a democratic Lebanon and one which is fully sovereign within its borders,

We are working on the basis it is a kidnapping,

We do have, I think, a right to say that we've got to be able to deal Mr A, or Mr B, or Mr C. We can't deal with Mr Nobody. And that's the problem, OK?

There has to be a consensus and this is a report, a set of circumstances, that the international community simply cannot ignore.

yet another example of terrorists' cynical and callous disregard for human life. On behalf of the British government, I would like to offer the people of India my support and deepest sympathy.

When Western Europe needed defense, along with the United States, it looked to Turkey for that defense on its eastern flank against the then-Soviet Union, ... No issues were then raised that it had an Islamic majority.

We will help whenever we can to move the process forward and deliver security and justice for Palestinians and Israelis.

There has to come a moment when our patience must run out, and we are now near that point with Iraq,

exploited every instrument of the state to distort the electoral process.

But members of the public are bound to be concerned and their concerns can be allayed if they are shown that every effort is being made by the European Union and by member states effectively to coordinate action.

The government's dossier catalogued a range of other procurement activities, and referred to intelligence that scientists had been recalled to the program in 1998.

The government of Iraq has to be from the people of Iraq and by the people of Iraq, of course with the support of the coalition and with the support of the United Nations and of the international community.

Yes, things have been difficult -- but don't let anybody tell you it's been all bad.

to discuss wording and take on board constructive suggestions as to how the process set out in the draft resolution could be improved, and that is exactly what we are doing.

you cannot leave a report like this on the table.

We also believe that elements of the Iranian regime may have been involved more directly in planning,

Those residents who are there should consider leaving unless their presence there is essential, ... British citizens who remain should exercise extreme caution, especially in public places.

What is important is that the region, the people of Serbia, now draw a line across Milosevic's past and his life, which was a malign influence on the people of Serbia and the whole region.

What is important ... is for Syria fully to cooperate over these questions that have been raised.

We cannot get into a situation, and I believe the family understand this, where we start bargaining with terrorists and kidnappers, because if we were to, we would not make Iraq or anywhere else safer,

We don't rule out the possibility of military action and neither in our view should anybody else.

to help the Iraqi government built a secure, democratic and stable nation.

What we are going to do is to listen carefully to what the president says Saturday afternoon and take it from there.

What we are doing, with the United Nations ' full support, is helping that full majority of Iraqis build what we have here -- a democratic, stable, prosperous and peaceful society.

What we are discussing is what we have to do, the very clear undertakings given by the European Council at a summit last December and again this June, to lead to an opening of negotiations on October 3rd. I will say that I am reasonably hopeful that this deadline can be met.

What that dossier shows is that the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's regime is not some historic leftover, but is real serious and represents a mounting challenge to the international community,

We look to the Iranian government to sit down with us, hear what we have to say and take action where appropriate.

We will take stock of our next steps after the Israeli elections and intend to have a further meeting as soon as the Palestinian delegates are allowed to travel,

Every country is under an imperative to deal with terrorism, including terrorism masquerading as freedom fighting,

Every enlargement that has taken place within the European Union has made both the existing and the new member states stronger and more prosperous, ... I'm in absolutely no doubt that the benefits will follow from this enlargement and bring a strong secular state which happens to have a Muslim majority into the European Union.

As soon as I leave this briefing ... I am going to find the people I think are responsible and encourage them to deal with it and to offer them some career advice.

(Annan) asked that arrangements should be made for a briefing of the security council and that will be taking place later today.

Electricity generation still around 25 percent below war levels, and transmission undermined by looting and sabotage,

Each is overwhelmingly Muslim and each, in their separate ways, is crucial to whether the world can be bound together, or fractured along deep political and theological divides,

The tragedy unfolding in Zimbabwe is driven by one man's ruthless campaign to hang on to power whatever the cost to others in the process,

I spoke last night with many of my counterparts and without exception there was overwhelming support for this action by the military coalition consisting of the United States and the United Kingdom,

These are the final rites of the funeral of the Cold War, with Russia as a friend and ally and no longer as an enemy,

There will have to be some way to ensure accountability for what has already been found here,

The Russian Federation have the same aim as the rest of the international community, ... Foreign Minister Lavrov is on record as saying that the Russian Federation does not wish the government of Iran to develop or acquire a nuclear weapons capability. That is the same approach as we have. What we're now working out is the appropriate tactics to achieve that.

The situation is very serious, there has been a clear abuse of human rights, a lack of democracy and a lack of openness,

The situation is grave, ... We have all worked hard to support the legitimate prime minister.

The three foreign ministers and Javier Solana just had an hour and 20 minute meeting with the new foreign minister of Iran, ... Everybody knows the efforts that the EU-3 has put in (to defuse the crisis) ... We look forward to the meeting later on.

Saddam's weapons pose a grave threat to international peace and security, ... We must not shrink from our commitment.

Saddam Hussein is not entitled to any presumption of innocence.

Saddam has a chance and he has to take it,

putting the government of Syria on notice that our patience has limits.

Provided we have the right framework, a certain amount of money will come from the UK and we'll encourage others to contribute,

Official brutality, which characterizes boot camps in America, is inhuman and does not work.

Offering to be transparent now is simply saying you are going to be compliant and really accepting you have not been compliant (with IAEA demands) in the past,

a disgusting assault on the very principle of European democracy.

theological-political divide, which could open up even further down the boundary between so-called Christian heritage states and those of Islamic heritage.

Now more than 40 years since the prospect of membership of the European Union was first held out to Turkey,

Delay would give Saddam the clearest possible signal that his strategy is succeeding, ... It would tell him that the international community lacks the will to disarm him.

Coming just days before the presidential elections, it looks like yet another attempt by the Mugabe regime to obstruct the conduct of the election and the ability of the people of Zimbabwe to choose, freely and fairly, who should lead them.

And that's just the easy business, ... We've then in the West Bank area got the issue of the extension of settlements.

appear to have been targeted at heavily populated areas to produce maximum carnage.

are here for the long-term to see Iraq through to a better future.

As far as 'Syria next on the list', we made clear that it is not,

The British government's position is that prisoners -- regardless of their technical status -- should be treated humanely and in accordance with customary international law, ... We have always made that clear and the Americans have said they share this view.

That obviously includes France, Germany, and Italy, who are offering forces as part of this coalition and all the other member states as well.

Your circumstance is entirely hypothetical, and I'm quite clear it won't arise.

This is an event of such horrifying, unimaginable proportions that I believe it is one where shock grows with time rather than diminishes.

This is a truly historic day for Europe and for the whole of the international community.

This is a terrible outrage committed by people with no humanity, ... I know that the police are devoting huge efforts to find the perpetrators.

This is... the funeral of the Cold War. It marks a profound, historical change,

This is of fundamental importance in ensuring that Gaza does not in the future stay as a prison, it opens up economic and social relations,

This is about the whole of the international community, there is a board of the International Atomic Energy Agency where it has decided on seven successive occasions unanimously that Iran must bring itself in to full compliance with its own obligations, which have been there for years and years, for complete transparency under the Non Proliferation Treaty.

This is a negotiation. Our aim was to listen.

This is a crucial meeting for the future of the European Union.

Although Yitzhak Rabin was prevented from seeing his efforts bear fruit, he set in motion a process which, despite setbacks, continues today,

There was no consensus for that proposal. It frankly would make negotiations impossible and render your negotiators powerless.

There was no consensus for that proposal, ... It frankly would make negotiations impossible and render your negotiators powerless.

The report indicated that people of a high level of this Syrian regime were implicated,

There might be other assistance that can be offered.

This is yet another example of terrorists' cynical and callous disregard for human life,

As Prime Minister, (Rabin) made difficult and courageous decisions in his search for peace and was undaunted by the many obstacles he faced,

Accountability is going to be very important for the international community,

It's extraordinary what children put up with. I happened to see two of my uncles put my father up against the wall of my grandmother's house and knock his teeth out, because he'd been unpleasant to my mother. The next day I went upstairs and found my father making a rather half-hearted attempt to gas himself.

It's a self-evident truth that if we're able to get a broad consensus with Russia and China, it strengthens the international community's hand with the Iranians on this dossier,

I totally condemn these actions and I urge the Uzbek authorities to show restraint in dealing with the situation and look for a way to resolve it peacefully.

For all the huge advances in the control of our lives through science and technology, an earthquake on this scale is truly humbling as well as profoundly tragic for everyone involved,

It's another terrible terrorist atrocity, ... Their fight is ours, our fight is theirs.

It shows how from very, very dark circumstances -- and we've had to deal with terrorism year after year after year which has killed hundreds of people -- it is possible to see the light, provide the process to keep going and achieve results,

The news that a third British citizen has died from his wounds from the attack in Iraq is terrible -- terrible for his family and for his community -- and it is something which all of us condemn unreservedly,