--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We knew the Syrian situation was complex…" description: "\"We knew the Syrian situation was complex and there were lots of divisions, particularly on the side of the opposition... This is a tough job... It can ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f4/kofi-annan-799_complexes_we-knew-the-syrian-situation-was-complex_36625.png" --- # We knew the Syrian situation was complex and there were… ![“We knew the Syrian situation was complex and there were lots of divisions, particularly on the side of the opposition... This is a tough job... It can perhaps be done if you stand united and work with me in putting sustained pressure on the protagonists or the parties to come together and seek a…” quote by Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f4/kofi-annan-799_complexes_we-knew-the-syrian-situation-was-complex_36625.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f4/kofi-annan-799_complexes_we-knew-the-syrian-situation-was-complex_36625.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f4/kofi-annan-799_complexes_we-knew-the-syrian-situation-was-complex_36625.png) > “We knew the Syrian situation was complex and there were lots of divisions, particularly on the side of the opposition... This is a tough job... It can perhaps be done if you stand united and work with me in putting sustained pressure on the protagonists or the parties to come together and seek a political settlement.” [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker emphasizes the intricate nature of the Syrian conflict, urging unified, sustained diplomatic pressure to bring opposing factions toward a political resolution. **In simple terms:** Complex conflict needs unified pressure for political settlement. Key Takeaway Unified diplomatic effort can enable political settlement. Themes conflict resolution diplomacy regional politics unity pressure tactics Mood determined hopeful urgent Type political statement policy appeal When to use this quote - peace negotiations - multilateral talks - regional security forums - humanitarian coordination - foreign policy strategy Key Concepts Syrian civil war opposition divisions political settlement international mediation Practical Applications - facilitating peace talks - coordinating sanctions Questions to Reflect On - What mechanisms can sustain unified pressure over time? - How can divergent opposition groups be incentivized to cooperate? A Different Perspective null ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Opposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposition/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Pressure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pressure/) [Protagonists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protagonists/) ## Related quotes > [This is eventually how Syria will be resolved - through a political settlement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/this-is-eventually-how-syria-will-be-resolved-through-a-political/) [Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/) > [The Russian ambassador at the United Nations did make some proposals for a political settlement in which Bashar Assad would be slowly eased out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-russian-ambassador-at-the-united-nations-did-make-some-proposals/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [That feeds anger, and I mean when we went and at last thank heavens got towards peace in Northern Ireland we went for justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-short/that-feeds-anger-and-i-mean-when-we-went-and-at-last-thank-heavens/) [Clare Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-short/) > [We must stop using the language of force and return to the path of civilized diplomatic and political settlement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/we-must-stop-using-the-language-of-force-and-return-to-the-path-of/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [The Capitol Police have a very tough job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elise-stefanik/the-capitol-police-have-a-very-tough-job/) [Elise Stefanik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elise-stefanik/) > [It's a tough job to be the owner in a rebuild, to be the GM, to be the coach. These are tough jobs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-budenholzer/it-s-a-tough-job-to-be-the-owner-in-a-rebuild-to-be-the-gm-to-be-the/) [Mike Budenholzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-budenholzer/) > [“Some people hate it when I make a tough job look easy. Jealousy is evident.Then they give me more tasks.I make those look easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-star/some-people-hate-it-when-i-make-a-tough-job-look-easy-jealousy-is/) [Ricky Star](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-star/) > [That name was a kind of joke, and not a very good one. An author, Leon Lederman, wanted to call it 'that goddamn particle'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-higgs/that-name-was-a-kind-of-joke-and-not-a-very-good-one-an-author-leon/) [Peter Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-higgs/) > [In fact, the best thing we could do on taxes for all Americans is to simplify the individual tax code. 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Our job is to solve the tough problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bel-edwards/our-job-is-not-to-retreat-when-times-get-tough-our-job-is-to-solve/) [John Bel Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bel-edwards/) > [“Thank you. For letting me have my wicked way with you.” “I took an oath to serve my country.” “One woman at a time?”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-anderson/thank-you-for-letting-me-have-my-wicked-way-with-you-i-took-an-oath/) [Toni Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-anderson/) > [It is a tough job to portray a character and make it believable on screen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-honey-singh/it-is-a-tough-job-to-portray-a-character-and-make-it-believable-on/) [Yo Yo Honey Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-honey-singh/) > [I'm off to save the universe again. It's a tough job but someone has to do it, and I'm glad it's me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lexa-doig/i-m-off-to-save-the-universe-again-it-s-a-tough-job-but-someone-has/) [Lexa Doig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lexa-doig/) ## More by Kofi Annan > [All our efforts to defeat poverty and pursue sustainable development will be in vain if environmental degradation and natural resource depletion continue unabated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/all-our-efforts-to-defeat-poverty-and-pursue-sustainable-development/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [We were all children once. And we all share the desire for the well-being of our children, which has always been and will continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/we-were-all-children-once-and-we-all-share-the-desire-for-the-well/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [You will recall that for months after 9/11, there was incredible support and sympathy for the US. I really hoped and wished they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/you-will-recall-that-for-months-after-9-11-there-was-incredible/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [A nation has the right to defend itself, but when it comes to the broader issue of peace and security, the legitimacy rests only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/a-nation-has-the-right-to-defend-itself-but-when-it-comes-to-the/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Sometimes when you take a tough action against one side in the conflict, they see you as part of the conflict and they attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/sometimes-when-you-take-a-tough-action-against-one-side-in-the/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Some have suggested that ideally there must be some international body that would treat areas like the Arctic as a global commerce, a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/some-have-suggested-that-ideally-there-must-be-some-international/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [In an age of interdependence, global citizenship - based on trust and sense of shared responsibility - is a crucial pillar of progress. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/in-an-age-of-interdependence-global-citizenship-based-on-trust-and/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [The question is the morning after. What sort of Iraq do we wake up to after the bombing? What happens in the region? What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/the-question-is-the-morning-after-what-sort-of-iraq-do-we-wake-up-to/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [I laugh a lot inside and outside, and at myself sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/i-laugh-a-lot-inside-and-outside-and-at-myself-sometimes/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Can the state, which represents the whole of society and has the duty of protecting society, fulfill that duty by lowering itself to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/can-the-state-which-represents-the-whole-of-society-and-has-the-duty/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [As long as inequality and other social problems plague us, populists will try to exploit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/as-long-as-inequality-and-other-social-problems-plague-us-populists/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Developing and newer democracies are much more susceptible to the tactics of populists and demagogues - they often do not have strong institutions, free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/developing-and-newer-democracies-are-much-more-susceptible-to-the/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [The young and dynamic and idealistic people in the square do not have the chance to organise themselves politically, to be able to follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/the-young-and-dynamic-and-idealistic-people-in-the-square-do-not-have/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Let us be good stewards of the Earth we inherited. All of us have to share the Earth's fragile ecosystems and precious resources, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/let-us-be-good-stewards-of-the-earth-we-inherited-all-of-us-have-to/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) [Explore all 366 Kofi Annan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) ## More Complexes quotes > [Being an artist is a totally godlike thing to do - and I have a god complex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-anderson/being-an-artist-is-a-totally-godlike-thing-to-do-and-i-have-a-god/) [Laurie Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-anderson/) > [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [For many of us, work is the one place where we feel appreciated. The things that we long to experience at home - pride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlie-russell-hochschild/for-many-of-us-work-is-the-one-place-where-we-feel-appreciated-the/) [Arlie Russell Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlie-russell-hochschild/) > [People are messy and complex, particularly in the homosexual world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/people-are-messy-and-complex-particularly-in-the-homosexual-world/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [At the risk of some oversimplification, if the skill composition of our work force meshed fully with the needs of our increasingly complex capital-stock,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/at-the-risk-of-some-oversimplification-if-the-skill-composition-of/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [There's a whole journalistic-industrial complex dedicated to keeping newsprint, TV screens and radio waves clean of destabilizing scoops damaging to corporations or the state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-cockburn/there-s-a-whole-journalistic-industrial-complex-dedicated-to-keeping/) [Alexander Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-cockburn/) > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [Through learning we grow, becoming more than we were before, and in that sense learning is unselfish, because it results in the transformation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/through-learning-we-grow-becoming-more-than-we-were-before-and-in/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [Significantly, God in Genesis 1 pronounces the rest of creation "good" before humanity is created. The psalmist and the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-clapp/significantly-god-in-genesis-1-pronounces-the-rest-of-creation-good/) Rodney Clapp > [Naval dominance of European waters was the largest, longest, most complex and expensive project ever undertaken by the British state and society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-rodger/naval-dominance-of-european-waters-was-the-largest-longest-most/) [Nicholas Rodger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-rodger/) > [When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/when-you-first-start-off-trying-to-solve-a-problem-the-first/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“The act of consciousness is central; otherwise we are overrun by the complexes. 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