53 Quotes by Martti Ahtisaari

Religions themselves are... peace-loving. They can also be a constructive force in peace-building, and this also applies to the Middle East.

Peace is a question of will. All conflicts can be settled, and there are no excuses for allowing them to become eternal.

My prime aim is to go to see the permanent member who has not been briefed properly. I think I owe it to the Chinese that I explain what has happened in these talks that I have attended, ... This Week.

Like several hundred thousand fellow Karelians, we became refugees in our own country as great power politics caused the borders of Finland to be redrawn and left my home town as part of the Soviet Union.

We have now come to the point when the clarity has to be sought from Yugoslavia,

We are convinced that Turkey would be a useful member of the European Union.

There are always interests that are furthered by war. Therefore, those who have power and influence can also stop them... we should not accept any excuses from those in power.

The origins of my career as a peace mediator can be found from my childhood years. I was born in the city of Viipuri, then still part of Finland. We lost Viipuri when the Soviet Union attacked my country. Along with 400,000 fellow Karelians, I became an eternally displaced person in the rest of Finland.

Wars and conflicts are not inevitable. They are caused by human beings.