# How UN chief Antonio Guterres tests the limits of quiet diplomacy

https://mins.news/en/item/103126

- Al Jazeera, 2026-10-16 12:57 UTC
- World
- Original: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/longform/2026/10/16/how-un-chief-antonio-guterres-tests-the-limits-of-quiet-diplomacy?traffic_source=rss

> The article recounts how Guterres pressed the United States to support a UN mission during the 1999 East Timor crisis, warning Bill Clinton that Portugal could reconsider its Balkan deployments. East Timor became independent in 2002. As UN secretary-general, Guterres has continued to confront the limits of diplomacy when powerful countries are divided.