Peace is a question of will. All conflicts can be settled, and there are no excuses for allowing them to become eternal.

Wars and conflicts are not inevitable. They are caused by human beings.

Mediators do not choose the conflicts they became involved in, but the parties to the conflict choose the mediator. Their participation as intermediaries is based on the trust of all the conflicting parties.

No country's policies are eternal; they do vary. People are growing old, and a new generation is coming to power. In a year's time, a government can look different. You can't influence them if you don't talk to them.

I believe we should utilise any power we have for important issues that are bigger and beyond us. Whether it's with refugees or working to educate kids. I don't think you need to have gone through a civil war to do something. I believe as human beings, we can look out for each other.

Peace in the Middle East is of prime importance to the Philippines, due to the presence of around 2 million of our countrymen working in that region.

But the deep desire for peace remained with the American people.

I get those fleeting, beautiful moments of inner peace and stillness - and then the other 23 hours and 45 minutes of the day, I'm a human trying to make it through in this world.