There are many challenges, there are many obstacles; let us try to change the obstacles to advantages.

In Finland we have equal political rights for women and men. We do not regard ourselves according to sex.

When the problems in Northern Ireland started, it was not a question of Protestantism or Catholicism, because the Catholic church was the only church at that time-it was a nationalist conflict.

In international or national crises, there are always questions of lack of confidence. You have to change the minds of the people in order to get results.

The Baltic Sea is becoming more and more polluted. Not everybody living near the shore of the Baltic Sea is protecting it. It is the water of life for countries like Finland and Sweden.

If you come to a negotiation table saying you have the final truth, that you know nothing but the truth and that is final, you will get nothing.

That is where consensus-building begins-with the idea that you have your own truth, but that the negotiator on the other side of the table has his own truth as well.