FACTBOX: Obama says he is a pragmatist on foreign policy

(Reuters) - Presidential candidate Barack Obama, who just completed a weeklong tour abroad, described his foreign policy approach as one that balances the promotion of human rights with the need to put the highest priority on the issues most crucial to America's security.

In an interview with Reuters on his flight back on Saturday from the Middle East and Europe, the presumptive Democratic nominee said his approach was "pragmatist."

He also took a tough line on Iran and gave a guardedly favorable impression of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Afghan President Hamid Karzai after visits to their countries.

Here are some excerpts from the interview:

REALISM VS. IDEALISM

Obama labels his foreign policy approach "pragmatist." Asked what he means by that, he replied, "There's always been a tension in American foreign policy between realism and idealism.

"When we're at our most effective, we are both concerned with protecting our values and ideals in the world but also mindful of how difficult it is to move societies in particular directions," Obama said. "So we've got to have some humility about what we can accomplish at a given time."

ON RUSSIA AND CHINA

Obama said the U.S. relationships with Russia and China were "great examples" of balancing the promotion of values with putting the top focus on America's security interests.

He said the United States must speak out on human rights issues such as genocide in Sudan while putting as a "very, very high priority" enlisting help to pressure Iran on its nuclear program.

"That is a very, very high priority for our own safety and security, for the safety and security of the region, for the safety of our ally Israel. It's going to be very hard to pressure them effectively if we don't have China and Russia on board," he said. "So we may not be able to do everything all at the same time. We've got to pick and choose our priorities on foreign policy, just as we do on domestic policy.

PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH'S FOREIGN POLICY

Obama expressed admiration for the deftness of President George H.W. Bush -- the current president's father -- in knowing not to "overreach" on foreign policy.

"I think they managed the end of the Cold War with extraordinary sophistication that could have gone wrong in all sorts of ways. They didn't overreach," he said. Concerning the first Gulf War, "they were very hard-headed but also worked very diligently in terms of rounding up our allies."

IRAN

Obama said in Paris last week that Iran must not wait for the next U.S. president to make a deal on its nuclear program. Elaborating on that, he told Reuters the comment was meant to be supportive of the Bush administration's move toward greater engagement with Iran when it sent William Burns, a senior U.S. diplomat, to talks with Iranian officials.