Kang Cheol-hwan
“The troop deployment to Russia is merely part of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's ruthless business strategy aimed at profiting from the war. North Korean troops sent to Russia are not elite army members. Kim Jong-un would benefit more from dispatching inexperienced soldiers to the front lines, as they will likely become cannon fodder. The more North Koreans die on the battlefield, the more money he stands to gain from Russia. Kim understands the value of specially trained forces better than any other dictator. Kim once remarked that one elite soldier is equivalent to 100 average soldiers in terms of military capability. He emphasized that their role is crucial in times of war. Kim is aware that the roughly 200,000 members of North Korea's special forces are a key military asset he can rely on. Therefore, he would never want to trade them away. If North Korea were to send elite troops to Russia, he knows his country would face dire consequences in the event of a contingency.”
6 hours ago
Kim Young-hee
“I wonder if they are really special forces. They were quite different from the Storm Corps members that I know. The special forces are physically fit and athletic, as they are well-fed and receive specialized training. However, the soldiers I saw on TV looked malnourished, resembling ordinary soldiers I encountered in rural areas of North Korea.”
6 hours ago
Khanyo Farise
“The last two weeks in Mozambique have been marked by completely unnecessary bloodshed as authorities have tried to stop a peaceful protest movement with deadly force. The number of casualties increases every day, with authorities deploying weapons of war, including rifles and armoured vehicles, on city streets. People cannot even protest in their own homes without risking tear gassing by police.”
9 hours ago
Maria Zakharova
“Today, a number of really needy African countries do not receive the necessary financial support through, for example, from the IMF, the World Bank. Do you know why? They can make up a lot of stories, but you and I know the truth, and let's say it out loud: yes, because they divert their main resources to support the Kiev regime. And if we speak directly, to [support] the war, what are they doing this for? Only for one purpose - to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. And why is it necessary to inflict a strategic defeat? Because Russia supports all those who need not imaginary patronage, but real defense.”
9 hours ago
Achim Wambach
“Germany's problems are too big to tolerate political gridlock. The government set out to reconcile the transformation towards climate neutrality with economic growth and social security. It has not lived up to this claim. The economy is stagnating and investments are failing to materialize. This daunting task was compounded by geo-economic tensions: wars in Europe and the Middle East as well as economically damaging interventions through tariffs and national subsidy policies. The election of Donald Trump has exacerbated these problems. Europe must do more for its security and will have to reckon with increased tariffs.”
10 hours ago
Friedrich Merz
“The coalition no longer has a majority in the German Bundestag, and we therefore call on the chancellor ... to call a vote of confidence immediately, or at the latest by the beginning of next week. We simply cannot afford to have a government without a majority in Germany for several months now, and then campaign for several more months, and then possibly conduct coalition negotiations for several weeks.”
10 hours ago
Olaf Scholz
“The citizens will soon have the opportunity to decide anew how to proceed. That is their right. I will therefore put the vote of confidence to the Bundestag at the beginning of next year.”
10 hours ago
Herzi Halevi
“We are sending Hamas a very clear message: the IDF does not tire. The more we fight, the stronger we become, gaining more experience, capabilities, professionalism, values, and determination. We are progressing with great intensity. The fact that you [troops in northern Gaza's Jabalia] are concluding three weeks here with approximately 1,000 terrorists killed and 1,000 terrorists captured is a significant achievement that deals Hamas a severe blow. We are providing the residents near the northern Gaza border with greater security and creating conditions for this security to endure, to not to be fleeting. Reaching an agreement is complex, but with the strength you are displaying here and the powerful way in which the IDF is fighting on seven fronts, in seven arenas, Israel is telling the entire Middle East - there is immense strength here, and incredible capability. From this position of power, we are supporting our civilians and soldiers who are held hostage and are prepared to fight with tremendous determination, as well as pay a price to bring them home. We are not stopping or slowing down; this is to bring back the hostages, to ensure security for the surrounding communities.”
10 hours ago
Anton Kobyakov
“For Russia, the role of a security provider for the countries of the African continent is a practical, vital necessity. To date, Russia has signed agreements on regular military-technical cooperation with 33 [states]. More than 1,500 people, including 54 official delegations and 45 foreign ministers of the African continent, are taking part in our conference [Russia-Africa ministerial conference], which is being held on the Sirius federal territory.”
10 hours ago
Andrii Sybiha
“The dialogue between President Zelenskyy and President-elect Trump has already been established. And the promptness of the phone conversation is evidence of the existing direct dialogue between the heads of states. Naturally, possible future contacts at the level of leaders have been discussed. The parties agreed that the teams would begin practical preparatory work to organise a meeting.”
10 hours ago
Raila Odinga
“I don't want to prejudge him [Donald Trump]. If he wants to work with Africa as a friend of Africa, we will welcome him and work with him. If he does not want to work with Africa… Africa has got other friends.”
10 hours ago
Abel Prado
“Trump, he's a very confounding figure. We have no idea how to organize against him. We have no idea how to respond. We have no idea how to not take the bait.”
12 hours ago
Francis Fukuyama
“The election represents a decisive rejection by American voters of liberalism and the particular way that the understanding of a 'free society' has evolved since the 1980s. Donald Trump not only wants to roll back neoliberalism and woke liberalism, but is a major threat to classical liberalism itself.”
13 hours ago
Bryan Lanza
“The Trump administration would ask Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for his version of a realistic vision for peace. And if President Zelensky comes to the table and says, well we can only have peace if we have Crimea, he shows to us that he's not serious. Crimea is gone. And if that is your priority of getting Crimea back and having American soldiers fight to get Crimea back, you're on your own. What we're going to say to Ukraine is, you know what you see? What do you see as a realistic vision for peace. It's not a vision for winning, but it's a vision for peace. And let's start having the honest conversation. The reality on the ground is that the European nation states and President Biden did not give Ukraine the ability and the arms to win this war at the very beginning and they failed to lift the restrictions for Ukraine to win.”
13 hours ago
Kristen Saloomey
“There has been a lot of soul searching. Democrats have been looking at when Biden got out of the race and whether there should have been a primary, but also about the issues that the party was focused on in the race. The Democratic Party and Kamala Harris were very much expecting the issue of reproductive rights and abortion rights to motivate women to the polls. The majority of women did support support Harris. But that was not enough to overtake Trump's lead and that was not what they predicted. There has been a lot of talk about the economy and how that was a big concern for so many people and that perhaps the Democrats should focus more on their messaging on that topic. But how the Harris campaign got their message out has also been a big point of discussion. The Republicans put Donald Trump on podcasts that were very popular with young men and used influencers on social media to get the word out. Democrats focused very much on traditional mainstream media.”
13 hours ago
Abbas Araghchi
“The world should know that in case of the expansion of war, its harmful effects will not be limited only to the West Asia region. Insecurity and instability can spread to other regions, even far away.”
13 hours ago
Mohammad Javad Zarif
“He [Donald Trump] must have realised that the maximum pressure policy that he initiated caused Iran's enrichment to reach 60 percent from 3.5 percent. As a man of calculation, he should do the math and see what the advantages and disadvantages of this policy have been and whether he wants to continue or change this harmful policy.”
13 hours ago
Kang Cheol-hwan
“The troop deployment to Russia is merely part of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's ruthless business strategy aimed at profiting from the war. North Korean troops sent to Russia are not elite army members. Kim Jong-un would benefit more from dispatching inexperienced soldiers to the front lines, as they will likely become cannon fodder. The more North Koreans die on the battlefield, the more money he stands to gain from Russia. Kim understands the value of specially trained forces better than any other dictator. Kim once remarked that one elite soldier is equivalent to 100 average soldiers in terms of military capability. He emphasized that their role is crucial in times of war. Kim is aware that the roughly 200,000 members of North Korea's special forces are a key military asset he can rely on. Therefore, he would never want to trade them away. If North Korea were to send elite troops to Russia, he knows his country would face dire consequences in the event of a contingency.”
6 hours ago
Kim Young-hee
“I wonder if they are really special forces. They were quite different from the Storm Corps members that I know. The special forces are physically fit and athletic, as they are well-fed and receive specialized training. However, the soldiers I saw on TV looked malnourished, resembling ordinary soldiers I encountered in rural areas of North Korea.”
6 hours ago
Khanyo Farise
“The last two weeks in Mozambique have been marked by completely unnecessary bloodshed as authorities have tried to stop a peaceful protest movement with deadly force. The number of casualties increases every day, with authorities deploying weapons of war, including rifles and armoured vehicles, on city streets. People cannot even protest in their own homes without risking tear gassing by police.”
9 hours ago
Maria Zakharova
“Today, a number of really needy African countries do not receive the necessary financial support through, for example, from the IMF, the World Bank. Do you know why? They can make up a lot of stories, but you and I know the truth, and let's say it out loud: yes, because they divert their main resources to support the Kiev regime. And if we speak directly, to [support] the war, what are they doing this for? Only for one purpose - to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. And why is it necessary to inflict a strategic defeat? Because Russia supports all those who need not imaginary patronage, but real defense.”
9 hours ago
Achim Wambach
“Germany's problems are too big to tolerate political gridlock. The government set out to reconcile the transformation towards climate neutrality with economic growth and social security. It has not lived up to this claim. The economy is stagnating and investments are failing to materialize. This daunting task was compounded by geo-economic tensions: wars in Europe and the Middle East as well as economically damaging interventions through tariffs and national subsidy policies. The election of Donald Trump has exacerbated these problems. Europe must do more for its security and will have to reckon with increased tariffs.”
10 hours ago
Friedrich Merz
“The coalition no longer has a majority in the German Bundestag, and we therefore call on the chancellor ... to call a vote of confidence immediately, or at the latest by the beginning of next week. We simply cannot afford to have a government without a majority in Germany for several months now, and then campaign for several more months, and then possibly conduct coalition negotiations for several weeks.”
10 hours ago
Olaf Scholz
“The citizens will soon have the opportunity to decide anew how to proceed. That is their right. I will therefore put the vote of confidence to the Bundestag at the beginning of next year.”
10 hours ago
Herzi Halevi
“We are sending Hamas a very clear message: the IDF does not tire. The more we fight, the stronger we become, gaining more experience, capabilities, professionalism, values, and determination. We are progressing with great intensity. The fact that you [troops in northern Gaza's Jabalia] are concluding three weeks here with approximately 1,000 terrorists killed and 1,000 terrorists captured is a significant achievement that deals Hamas a severe blow. We are providing the residents near the northern Gaza border with greater security and creating conditions for this security to endure, to not to be fleeting. Reaching an agreement is complex, but with the strength you are displaying here and the powerful way in which the IDF is fighting on seven fronts, in seven arenas, Israel is telling the entire Middle East - there is immense strength here, and incredible capability. From this position of power, we are supporting our civilians and soldiers who are held hostage and are prepared to fight with tremendous determination, as well as pay a price to bring them home. We are not stopping or slowing down; this is to bring back the hostages, to ensure security for the surrounding communities.”
10 hours ago
Anton Kobyakov
“For Russia, the role of a security provider for the countries of the African continent is a practical, vital necessity. To date, Russia has signed agreements on regular military-technical cooperation with 33 [states]. More than 1,500 people, including 54 official delegations and 45 foreign ministers of the African continent, are taking part in our conference [Russia-Africa ministerial conference], which is being held on the Sirius federal territory.”
10 hours ago
Andrii Sybiha
“The dialogue between President Zelenskyy and President-elect Trump has already been established. And the promptness of the phone conversation is evidence of the existing direct dialogue between the heads of states. Naturally, possible future contacts at the level of leaders have been discussed. The parties agreed that the teams would begin practical preparatory work to organise a meeting.”
10 hours ago
Raila Odinga
“I don't want to prejudge him [Donald Trump]. If he wants to work with Africa as a friend of Africa, we will welcome him and work with him. If he does not want to work with Africa… Africa has got other friends.”
10 hours ago
Abel Prado
“Trump, he's a very confounding figure. We have no idea how to organize against him. We have no idea how to respond. We have no idea how to not take the bait.”
12 hours ago
Francis Fukuyama
“The election represents a decisive rejection by American voters of liberalism and the particular way that the understanding of a 'free society' has evolved since the 1980s. Donald Trump not only wants to roll back neoliberalism and woke liberalism, but is a major threat to classical liberalism itself.”
13 hours ago
Bryan Lanza
“The Trump administration would ask Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for his version of a realistic vision for peace. And if President Zelensky comes to the table and says, well we can only have peace if we have Crimea, he shows to us that he's not serious. Crimea is gone. And if that is your priority of getting Crimea back and having American soldiers fight to get Crimea back, you're on your own. What we're going to say to Ukraine is, you know what you see? What do you see as a realistic vision for peace. It's not a vision for winning, but it's a vision for peace. And let's start having the honest conversation. The reality on the ground is that the European nation states and President Biden did not give Ukraine the ability and the arms to win this war at the very beginning and they failed to lift the restrictions for Ukraine to win.”
13 hours ago
Kristen Saloomey
“There has been a lot of soul searching. Democrats have been looking at when Biden got out of the race and whether there should have been a primary, but also about the issues that the party was focused on in the race. The Democratic Party and Kamala Harris were very much expecting the issue of reproductive rights and abortion rights to motivate women to the polls. The majority of women did support support Harris. But that was not enough to overtake Trump's lead and that was not what they predicted. There has been a lot of talk about the economy and how that was a big concern for so many people and that perhaps the Democrats should focus more on their messaging on that topic. But how the Harris campaign got their message out has also been a big point of discussion. The Republicans put Donald Trump on podcasts that were very popular with young men and used influencers on social media to get the word out. Democrats focused very much on traditional mainstream media.”
13 hours ago
Abbas Araghchi
“The world should know that in case of the expansion of war, its harmful effects will not be limited only to the West Asia region. Insecurity and instability can spread to other regions, even far away.”
13 hours ago
Mohammad Javad Zarif
“He [Donald Trump] must have realised that the maximum pressure policy that he initiated caused Iran's enrichment to reach 60 percent from 3.5 percent. As a man of calculation, he should do the math and see what the advantages and disadvantages of this policy have been and whether he wants to continue or change this harmful policy.”
13 hours ago
“In July, at the Washington summit, NATO leaders reaffirmed their claim to the alliance's leading role not only in the Euro-Atlantic region, but also in the Asia-Pacific region. If you read the NATO declaration, it turns out that this 'defensive' alliance, in order to protect the territory of its members, intends to fight these 'defensive' battles in the South China Sea and in the Taiwan Strait, a thousand miles from its shores. All reasonable observers understand that this is a road to nowhere. However, the Americans are deliberately introducing NATO's military infrastructure into the Pacific Ocean, not hiding the goal of increasing pressure on China, North Korea, and Russia.”
“The longer the current Ukrainian authorities, backed by the West, undermine various agreements, the less territory this regime has. In February 2014: if they had fulfilled in good faith what they agreed upon, nothing would have happened, and Crimea would be part of Ukraine. But they decided to break the agreement, as they were eager to change the government as soon as possible. By February 2015, the Minsk agreements. If they had honored these agreements, yes, Crimea had already seceded by that time, but Ukraine would have remained within its borders, including all of Donbass. They did not want to do it because they were unwilling to grant a part of Donbass special status, which primarily involves confirming the right of the people living there to speak their language. And the third chance they had was in Istanbul in April 2022. President [of Russia Vladimir Putin] spoke about it in detail. Of course, the current situation is also different from what it was in April 2022.”
“We are deeply grateful to our Korean friends for their principled position regarding the events that have now unfolded in Ukraine as a result of the West's course of advancing NATO to the east and encouraging an openly racist regime to exterminate everything Russian.”
“The upcoming conclusion of the treaty on comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and Iran will significantly strengthen Russian-Iranian relations. As I mentioned, the treaty is in preparation for signing in the near future.”
“Countries such as India, Brazil, as well as representatives of Africa should have been on a permanent basis in the Security Council for a long time. This is necessary to ensure representativeness, representation of the global majority.”
“The world is currently going through a multipolar moment. This process is a natural part of power rebalancing, which reflects objective changes in the world economy, finance and geopolitics. The West waited longer than the others, yet it has also started to realize that this process is irreversible.”
“The unprecedented level of arrogance and aggressiveness of Western policies towards Russia not only reduces to nothing the very idea of global cooperation being promoted by the UN Secretary-General, but also increasingly impedes the operation of the entire system of global governance, including the UN Security Council. It is not our choice and it is not us who will bear the consequences of such a dangerous course. It is nakedly clear to the world majority that confrontation and hegemonism will not resolve any global problem. If the West does not stop, the dire effects of this will be felt by all.”
“We see NATO stepping up drills related to possible crises in the Arctic. Our country is fully ready to defend its interests militarily, politically and from the standpoint of defense technologies.”
“Zelenskyy said… that they will need this for future exchanges. That's why they are taking prisoners and want to seize square kilometers. It's so simple-minded and naive. We do not discuss our territory with anyone. We do not negotiate about our territory.”
“It is astonishing. The European Union, which was created to ensure the wellbeing and stability of all its members, has now evolved into a NATO appendage. And [now the EU] is no less aggressively and, perhaps, sometimes even more aggressively demanding to inflict a defeat on Russia. What kind of strategic or any other dialogue could there be?”
“All of a sudden South Korea's rhetoric became even more hostile towards Pyongyang. In Japan as well, we hear aggressive rhetoric and it is seriously talking about setting up NATO infrastructure with U.S. assistance. They're preparing for war with the DPRK.”
“They say that [fighting] should be stopped immediately, that Israel should destroy the terrorists. But this was done before … and never after the situation calmed down did they come to the fact that the main reason [for the conflict] needs to be eliminated. The Palestinian problem should not be delayed further.”
“It's not all about Ukraine. It's about how international relations will continue to be shaped through the establishment of a sound consensus on the basis of balance of interests or through aggressive and volatile advancement of Washington's hegemony.”
“Just as Hitler wanted a 'final solution' to the Jewish question, now, if you read Western politicians … they clearly say Russia must suffer a strategic defeat.”
“Our proposals for the demilitarisation and denazification of the territories controlled by the regime, the elimination of threats to Russia's security emanating from there, including our new lands, are well known to the enemy. The point is simple: Fulfil them for your own good. Otherwise, the issue will be decided by the Russian army.”
“I hope that in today's situation, President Joe Biden will have more opportunities to understand who gives orders and how. This situation is very disturbing. The difference is that in the distant 1962, Khrushchev and Kennedy found the strength to show responsibility and wisdom, and now we do not see such readiness on the part of Washington and its satellites. The readiness of Russia, including its president, to negotiate [on Ukraine], it remains unchanged. We will always be ready to listen to what proposals our Western partners have to de-escalate tensions.”
“It seems to me that the Americans have been participating de facto in this war for a long time. This war is being controlled by the Anglo-Saxons. Officials including White House national security spokesman John Kirby had said the United States was open to talks but that Russia had refused. This is a lie. We have not received any serious offers to make contact.”
“Following those referendums, Russia of course will respect the expression of the will of those people who for many long years have been suffering from the abuses of the neo-Nazi regime.”
“From the very start of the operation … we said that the peoples of the respective territories should decide their fate, and the whole current situation confirms that they want to be masters of their fate.”