“My country and me, we are part of this region, we’re not separated. We cannot discuss it as Syria or as me ; it should be as part, as a whole, as comprehensive. That’s how we have to look at it.”

We’ve been living in difficult circumstances and we prepare ourselves for every possibility. But that doesn’t mean if you’re prepared things will be better ; it’s going to get worse with any foolish strike or stupid war.

I will tell [Barack Obama] very simply : present what you have as evidence to the public, be transparent.

As I said, this [repercussions] may take different forms : direct and indirect. Direct when people want to retaliate, or governments. Indirect when you’re going to have instability and the spread of terrorism all over the region that will influence the west directly.

When you talk about cooperation, it means cooperation between two legal governments, not cooperation between foreign government and any faction within Syria.

The logical thing is to implement the Arab Defense Agreement.

We’ve been dealing with this kind of terrorism since the fifties, since the Muslim Brotherhood came to Syria at that time.

Many people do not understand the difference between peace and a peace treaty. If you want to have real peace with normal relations between people, you need to have comprehensive peace.

We believe that Lebanon has been the first real experience for all the Arabs.

What the army is doing is cleaning those areas, and the indication that the army is strong is that it’s making advancement in that area. It never went to one area and couldn’t enter to it – that’s an indication.

Terrorists have been supported by tens of foreign countries, so Syria alone wouldn’t be able to face this kind of war without the help of its friends.

When you’re in the middle of a storm, leaving your country just because you have to leave without any reasonable reason, it means you’re quitting your country and this is treason.

Despite the ethnic diversity within each nation, the social fabric of the region by and large is one.

In Aleppo we had the missile itself, and the material, and the sample from the sand, from the soil, and samples from the blood [of chemical weapons].

You said treaties, and a Russian official said ; we have not agreement… contracts, that we have to fulfill, and those contracts are like any country ; you buy armaments, you buy anything you want.

Opposition doesn’t mean to take arms and kill people and destroy everything.

We’re not like the American administration, we’re not social media administration or government. We are a government that deals with reality. When we have evidence, we’ll announce it.

Look at everything as though you are seeing it for the first time.

In the 60′s there was a look. In the 70′s there was a look, and in the 80′s. Now, it’s a free-for-all.

Problems often look overwhelming at first. The secret is to break problems into small, manageable chunks. If you deal with those, you’re done before you know it.

I always have this red nose in my pocket, and if it looks like I’m taking things too seriously, or the person I’m talking to is taking them too seriously, I put the nose on. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing or talking about, it doesn’t matter if we agree or disagree, the nose changes everything.

The fact is that this conversation is going on at every level at every age, we’re all going, “God, what a jerk I’ve been,” “How could I have married that guy?” or “How could I have done this or that?” With time, this is the gift of being older, that you get to look back and say, “It wasn’t all about them.”

What is it about maps? I could look at them all day, earnestly studying the names of towns and villages I have never heard of and will never visit.

Don’t look for someone in whom to believe. Believe in yourself. The only authentic authority is your own original nature.

I have always felt my role as a designer is to do the very best I can for a woman to make her look her best. Fashion is only fashion once a woman puts it on.