Against this ambiguous background, the exact tone of any statement released after the meeting will be crucial.
There was no egotism in his tone, just a statement of fact.
The tone of the statement suggested a renewed optimism that the concerns of the nuclear monitoring agency would be addressed.
After a summer in which American and Afghan officials were more often than not on the same page, the confrontational tone of the statement was a sharp reminder of the acrimony that has often characterized relations between Mr. Karzai and his American benefactors.
Now I was going to dedicate this piece to joking about how breathlessly tone deaf and ignorant of a statement that is.
The original statement had the tone of a non-apology (see full statement below).
The defiant tone of the statement quashed hopes of a compromise to resolve the crisis, which erupted three months ago when Yanukovich decided against signing a free trade and association agreement with the European Union, choosing instead to increase ties with Russia.
The economic tone of the statement was little changed from a draft issued in July after a summit meeting of finance ministers, suggesting that the world's most influential leaders are still nervous about growth prospects despite a recent spate of positive economic news.
(A senior D.H.S. official told me that the tone of the statement was necessary because there was little time between the release of the bill and a floor vote).
However, the tone of the statement was notably calmer than September's, which came on the back of a volatile August in global equity markets.
