"Only one thing remains unchanged: contradictions between nations and states are still resolved not by words, but by missiles. Not by word. But by war."

“You can't think of the global and close your eyes to the details.”

“In today's world, where we live, there is no longer someone else’s war. None of you can feel safe when there is a war in Ukraine, when there is a war in Europe.”

“Politics is like bad cinema — people overact, take it too far. When I speak with politicians, I see this in their facial expressions, their eyes, the way they squint. I look at things like a producer. I would often watch a scene on the monitor, and the director and I would yell, ‘Stop, no more, this is unwatchable! No one will believe this.’”

“Unless we make these difficult and unpopular decisions, there will be no economic growth or job creation.”