Partisanship is not part of my professional makeup.

Nationalism is like cheap alcohol. First it makes you drunk, then it makes you blind, then it kills you.

We intend to leave it without further discussion. We respect this request by the government of Uzbekistan

At least in my country, we have come to accept the flags burning, but what we cannot accept is violence, burning of embassies and intimidations, and there is no excuse for that.

Think of Europe in the 20th century. Two World Wars generated by nationalism. France, Germany, Britain fighting with each other.

Ronald Reagan reached out to Gorbachev. At the same time, we were pushing back against the Soviets all over the world. He was able to do two things at once, and it worked out very well for us.

The world should contemplate a nuclear weapons-armed Iran with the greatest of concern.

I think that President George W. Bush was ahead of most of his government, in realizing that Putin was not the person we thought he was.

No great power is ever satisfied with its sphere of influence. They never are.

Be careful about a policy generated with enthusiasm in the rush of a moment. It usually doesn't turn out well.

Don't mistake the Russia you want to exist for the Russia that there actually is. Be realistic.

And once you've been to this Center, this Truth, you'll know your way everywhere. You are never lost again.

My mother wanted to be an actress. She wanted to follow her dreams, and she never really got a chance to do that. I feel like I'm following her dream in a way.

People, for reasons of their own, often fail to do things that would be good for them or good for society.

The visible order of the universe proclaims a supreme intelligence.

While the human gaze becomes more and more fixed, losing some of its natural speed and sensitivity, photographic shots, on the contrary, become even faster.

I think my films are always quite self-reflexive and always question 'why am I doing this, is this the right way to do it, what is cinema for, does it have a purpose?

To be a friend of the weak-that is the artist's point of departure as well as his ultimate goal.

All rivers, even the most dazzling, those that catch the sun in their course, all rivers go down to the ocean and drown. And life awaits man as the sea awaits the river.

A great production of a black comedy is better than a mediocre production of a comedy of errors.

A clear idea about the nature of quality in art will always result in inferior art tailored to it.