Diplomats are ... diplomatic on the subject of Bolton

;-)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/04/world/05nationscnd.html?hp&ex=1165294800&en=085c276f00daf688&ei=5094&partner=homepage


“I think he was serious about the American objective here of reforming the United Nations, and he pushed hard,” said Wang Guangya, the Chinese ambassador. “But of course, sometimes in order to achieve the objective, you have to work together with others.”

Adamantios Vassilakis, the Greek ambassador, said: “I had a good personal relationship with him. Sometimes it was not easy, but we managed to find a solution whenever I dealt with him.”

...

In Moscow, the Novosti news agency quoted a Russian foreign ministry spokesman saying that Mr. Bolton had been “a very strong professional, although on a series of issues, including problems of U.N. reform, he supported extremely severe views.”

The spokesman added that he hoped President Bush would nominate a successor without “excessive severity in his approach.”

...

On Mr. Bolton’s campaign to bring about change in United Nations practices, <Vassilakis> said, “I might say I would personally push for the same thing with different tactics, but that’s a different story.”