In an interview with Time Magazine, US President Barack Obama listed those foreign leaders that he considers friends and have helped him implement diplomatic initiatives.
“The friendships and the bonds of trust that I’ve been able to forge with a whole range of leaders is precisely, or is a big part of, what has allowed us to execute effective diplomacy,” said Obama.
The list included Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, British Prime Minister David Cameron, and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not mentioned.
“I think that if you ask them, Angela Merkel or Prime Minister Singh or President Lee or Prime Minister Erdogan or David Cameron would say, ‘We have a lot of trust and confidence in the President. We believe what he says. We believe that he’ll follow through on his commitments. We think he’s paying attention to our concerns and our interests,'” Obama added.