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The dialogue that President Reagan and I started was difficult. To reach agreement, particularly on arms control and security, we had to overcome mistrust and the barriers of numerous problems and prejudices. I don't know whether we would have been able to agree and to insist on the implementation of our agreements with a different person at the helm of American government. True, Reagan was a man of the right. But, while adhering to his convictions, with which one could agree or disagree, he was not dogmatic; he was looking for negotiations and cooperation. And this was the most important thing to me: he had the trust of the American people.

Ronald Reagan#135

PoliticsPeaceDiplomacyTrustNegotiation

About this quote

What does it mean?
Reagan's successor notes difficulty in negotiations with Reagan but praises his trust and lack of dogmatism.
In plain terms
Negotiating with Reagan was hard but possible because he trusted people.
What can you take from it?
Trust and flexibility enable successful international agreements.

Where it applies

  • international relations
  • peace talks
  • leadership assessment

Putting it to work

  • building diplomatic trust
  • negotiating treaties

Questions to consider

  • What makes diplomacy successful?
  • How does personality affect policy?

Another view

Trust does not always guarantee agreement on all issues.

More from Ronald Reagan

  1. I take the death of Ronald Reagan very hard. He was a man whom fate set by me in perhaps the most difficult years at the end of the 20th century. He has alread…

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  2. President Reagan was the Churchill of his era. His commitment to the principles of freedom and democracy and his boundless optimism for humanity will remain an…

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  3. Reagan bolstered the U.S. military might to ruin the Soviet economy, and he achieved his goal.

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