--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Soviet foreign ministers would come in to…" description: "\"Soviet foreign ministers would come in to see the president all the time, routinely. Jimmy Carter stopped that after the invasion of Afghanistan. Ronal..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d41/robert-m-gates-2972_afghanistan_soviet-foreign-ministers-would-come-in-t_2558619.png" --- # Soviet foreign ministers would come in to see the… ![“Soviet foreign ministers would come in to see the president all the time, routinely. Jimmy Carter stopped that after the invasion of Afghanistan. Ronald Reagan resumed it in 1984, I think. And so the fact of a meeting like that I think is not that big a deal.” quote by Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d41/robert-m-gates-2972_afghanistan_soviet-foreign-ministers-would-come-in-t_2558619.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d41/robert-m-gates-2972_afghanistan_soviet-foreign-ministers-would-come-in-t_2558619.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d41/robert-m-gates-2972_afghanistan_soviet-foreign-ministers-would-come-in-t_2558619.png) > “Soviet foreign ministers would come in to see the president all the time, routinely. Jimmy Carter stopped that after the invasion of Afghanistan. Ronald Reagan resumed it in 1984, I think. And so the fact of a meeting like that I think is not that big a deal.” [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Frequent meetings between foreign ministers and presidents are routine, not extraordinary, and their absence or presence reflects political context rather than significance. **In simple terms:** Regular diplomatic meetings are normal, not special events. Key Takeaway Don’t overinterpret routine diplomatic visits. Themes diplomacy politics routine perception Mood neutral analytical Type historical political When to use this quote - government negotiations - foreign policy analysis - historical research - media commentary Key Concepts statecraft power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does the frequency of meetings affect diplomatic trust? - What other signals indicate a change in foreign policy? A Different Perspective Such meetings can still signal policy shifts or alliance changes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afghanistan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghanistan/) [Foreign Ministers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-ministers-581633/) [Jimmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jimmy/) [Jimmy carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jimmy-carter/) [Meetings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meetings/) [Ministers Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ministers-come-239089/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Reagan Resumed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reagan-resumed-1584849/) [Resumed 1984](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resumed-1984-1584850/) [Soviet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soviet/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Prime ministers come and go, but so long as he or she lives, the sovereign remains, receiving and reading all state papers and meeting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/prime-ministers-come-and-go-but-so-long-as-he-or-she-lives-the/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) > [Conferences at the top level are always courteous. Name-calling is left to the foreign ministers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-averell-harriman/conferences-at-the-top-level-are-always-courteous-name-calling-is/) [W. Averell Harriman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-averell-harriman/) > [We have an integrated picture of the threat from outside and from within that is provided not only to our foreign ministers but also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gijs-de-vries/we-have-an-integrated-picture-of-the-threat-from-outside-and-from/) [Gijs de Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gijs-de-vries/) > [“It was the power of Business, not the deliberations of statesman, that shaped the destinies of nations. The Foreign Ministers of the great powers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-ambler/it-was-the-power-of-business-not-the-deliberations-of-statesman-that/) [Eric Ambler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-ambler/) > [The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border of Afghanistan, I wrote to President Jimmy Carter: We now have the opportunity of giving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/the-day-that-the-soviets-officially-crossed-the-border-of-afghanistan/) [Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/) > [The Democrats loved Jimmy Carter, even though - and, by the way, take a look at some economic circumstances. In 1980, the economy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-democrats-loved-jimmy-carter-even-though-and-by-the-way-take-a/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [If you could have imagined that someone is happy that Obama is president, it has to be Jimmy Carter because he is no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-north/if-you-could-have-imagined-that-someone-is-happy-that-obama-is/) [Oliver North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-north/) > [Jimmy Carter was unquestionably the most moral president of my lifetime, but he wasn't much of a president.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/jimmy-carter-was-unquestionably-the-most-moral-president-of-my/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [White House cultures inevitably reflect the president's character. Jimmy Carter is a thoroughly honest, good person. So was his White House.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-drayton/white-house-cultures-inevitably-reflect-the-president-s-character/) [Bill Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-drayton/) > [Pundits are saying that President Obama is starting to lose support among his own party. To give you an idea of how bad it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/pundits-are-saying-that-president-obama-is-starting-to-lose-support/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [It was not malaise we suffered from; it was Jimmy Carter - and Walter Mondale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/it-was-not-malaise-we-suffered-from-it-was-jimmy-carter-and-walter/) [Jeane Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-kirkpatrick/) > [I'm looking for a president that'll be like a Ronald Reagan to a Jimmy Carter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-giuliani/i-m-looking-for-a-president-that-ll-be-like-a-ronald-reagan-to-a/) [Rudy Giuliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-giuliani/) > [I only remember a few things about Jimmy Carter. He had big lips and liked peanuts. I now know that Jimmy Carter was and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/i-only-remember-a-few-things-about-jimmy-carter-he-had-big-lips-and/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [Look at what Jimmy Carter did. Look at the risks he took for a country that wasn't his. Israel has benefited unbelievably from that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-wright/look-at-what-jimmy-carter-did-look-at-the-risks-he-took-for-a-country/) [Lawrence Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-wright/) > [No doubt the ridiculous politicians are right to like politics. They have found careers in which success can be achieved by being ridiculous. Imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/no-doubt-the-ridiculous-politicians-are-right-to-like-politics-they/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) ## More by Robert M. Gates > [And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/and-so-the-greatest-of-american-triumphs-became-a-peculiarly-joyless/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [“Obama answered, “Yes. I’m no peacenik.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/obama-answered-yes-i-m-no-peacenik/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [“I was seething. I told him that “the clock is ticking” and that our patience with their lack of political progress was running out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/i-was-seething-i-told-him-that-the-clock-is-ticking-and-that-our/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [Some people have said, in so many words, that I'm kind of wooly-headed in believing that the Iranians would see not having nuclear weapons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/some-people-have-said-in-so-many-words-that-i-m-kind-of-wooly-headed/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [“Obama was the fourth president I had worked for who said outright that he wanted to eliminate all nuclear weapons (Carter, Reagan, and Bush…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/obama-was-the-fourth-president-i-had-worked-for-who-said-outright/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [I had no concerns - I had no reason to have concerns based on what was available to me about North's contacts with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/i-had-no-concerns-i-had-no-reason-to-have-concerns-based-on-what-was/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [Health care costs are eating the Defense Department alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/health-care-costs-are-eating-the-defense-department-alive/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [“The passage of fourteen years had led to another significant change in the international environment. As I told Bush 43 and Condi Rice on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/the-passage-of-fourteen-years-had-led-to-another-significant-change/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [I've been very sensitive for a long time to the repeated pattern, during economic hard times or after a war, of the United States'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/i-ve-been-very-sensitive-for-a-long-time-to-the-repeated-pattern/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [I don't know General Michael Flynn well, but it's hard for me to believe anybody would allow themselves to be blackmailed by the Russians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/i-don-t-know-general-michael-flynn-well-but-it-s-hard-for-me-to/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [I had no difficulty as Secretary of Defense moving from the Bush administration to the Obama administration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/i-had-no-difficulty-as-secretary-of-defense-moving-from-the-bush/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [The United States has been a global power since late in the 19th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/the-united-states-has-been-a-global-power-since-late-in-the-19th/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [My one concern is that Hu Jintao may overestimate how much power China has in Pyongyang. They have - they do have influence, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/my-one-concern-is-that-hu-jintao-may-overestimate-how-much-power/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [“I thought you were my friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/i-thought-you-were-my-friend/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [“Soon after the raid was over, the White House released the now-famous photo of all of us watching the video in that small conference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/soon-after-the-raid-was-over-the-white-house-released-the-now-famous/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) [Explore all 143 Robert M. Gates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) ## More Afghanistan quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [They're criminals, they brutalized Afghanistan, they killed our people, they destroyed our land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamid-karzai/they-re-criminals-they-brutalized-afghanistan-they-killed-our-people/) [Hamid Karzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamid-karzai/) > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [The terrorist attacks of September 11th and the courageous actions of our armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq remind us that friends of tyranny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-levin/the-terrorist-attacks-of-september-11th-and-the-courageous-actions-of/) [Carl Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-levin/) > [According to a recent Harvard study, $6 trillion, when you include the ongoing healthcare expenses for our wounded soldiers, which is the least they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/according-to-a-recent-harvard-study-6-trillion-when-you-include-the/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [You don't bargain with terrorists. You don't appease terrorists. And anybody who believes that this is about something we've done has to ask themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chertoff/you-don-t-bargain-with-terrorists-you-don-t-appease-terrorists-and/) [Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) > [“I stood with my mom in the cemetery. She felt terrible pain. My grandmother is with God. My mom has to continue living. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-elliot/i-stood-with-my-mom-in-the-cemetery-she-felt-terrible-pain-my/) [Tucker Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-elliot/) > [The most successful cultural diplomacy strategy integrates people-to-people or arts/culture/media-to-people interactions into the basic business of diplomacy. The programs in Afghanistan, Egypt, and Iran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-p-schneider/the-most-successful-cultural-diplomacy-strategy-integrates-people-to/) [Cynthia P. Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-p-schneider/) > [Because Iran understands Afghanistan far better than Americans do, making Iran a partner in a long-term effort to transform Afghan agriculture makes sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/because-iran-understands-afghanistan-far-better-than-americans-do/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Thousands of Americans have given their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq upholding their oaths and defending this nation. Chelsea Manning broke her oath and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/thousands-of-americans-have-given-their-lives-in-afghanistan-and-iraq/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [I have been to Afghanistan many times, even before the Taliban collapsed. I was fascinated by the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir-khan/i-have-been-to-afghanistan-many-times-even-before-the-taliban/) [Kabir Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir-khan/) > [There has been sort of, if you will, a moral interventionism on the part of the United States trying to reshape countries in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/there-has-been-sort-of-if-you-will-a-moral-interventionism-on-the/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The legal system in Afghanistan is very immature and porous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/the-legal-system-in-afghanistan-is-very-immature-and-porous/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) [Browse all 1,159 Afghanistan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghanistan/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Soviet foreign ministers would come in to see the president all the time, routinely. 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