美俄谈合作 但没有突破

 　　MOSCOW—U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in their first meeting since the Kremlin's annexation¹ of Crimea and support for rebels fighting in east Ukraine sparked the worst tensions with the West since the Cold War. But, the tone of Tuesday's meeting was conciliatory.

　　Secretary of State Kerry met Putin at his residence in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi, the host of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Their meeting lasted nearly four hours and followed a separate meeting between Kerry and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

　　The two sides discussed cooperation on Iran's nuclear program as well as the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, and they raised hopes for a thaw² in bilateral³ relations.

　　While acknowledging differences over Syria and the cause of the conflict in Ukraine, they agreed there must be political solutions.

　　US, Russia Talk Cooperation, but No Breakthroughs

　　'Common views'

　　"From the Geneva communique to the removal of Syria's chemical weapons,” said Kerry, “I would emphasize that we have seen what happens when Russia and the United States work together.” He added that “It is clearly possible to make real progress and make important things happen."

　　Cooperation to halt Iran's nuclear program hit a bump when Russia announced plans to sell missile defense⁴ systems to Tehran.  Kerry did not raise the issue during the Sochi meeting but said the U.S. position was well known and had been discussed on other occasions.

　　On Syria, Kerry said there could be no solution without a negotiated political transition from President Bashar al-Assad, who receives key support from Russia.

　　Russia denies sending military aid to Ukraine's rebels, despite mounting evidence to the contrary, and blames the U.S. for supporting the government in Kyiv.

　　But after Tuesday's meetings, both Kerry and Lavrov stressed where the two sides held common views.

　　"There are certain disagreements between Russia and the U.S. about the genesis of this crisis [in Ukraine] and current estimations of its development,” said Lavrov. Still, the Russian foreign minister said he and his U.S. counterpart “were united in the opinion that it should be solved only in a peaceful way."

　　The meetings came the same day a Russian opposition⁵ report released in Moscow claimed the Kremlin had spent billions funding Ukraine's rebels and sending its own forces into the battle.

　　The report also claims relatives of over 200 Russian troops recently killed in Ukraine were threatened or paid to keep silent.

　　“Huge political harm has been done to Russia as the result of the geopolitical shady enterprise which was started by Putin in eastern Ukraine,” says opposition activist⁶ Ilya Yashin.

　　The report, titled “Putin. War,” was the work of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was gunned down in February just meters from the Kremlin.

　　Since fighting broke out in eastern Ukraine a year ago, more than 6,000 have been killed, despite several shaky ceasefires.

　　Mood shifting?

　　But fears of a new surge in violence are overblown because the Kremlin's mood is shifting to accommodation, says the director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, Dmitri Trenin.

　　“No major offensive is possible,” says Trenin, “absent a Russian nod or Russian acquiescence⁷. And, this I don't think will be given under the present circumstances.”

　　Political analysts⁸ say visits like Secretary Kerry's are welcomed in Russia because, despite the Kremlin's actions in Ukraine, Putin wants to portray⁹ his government as a peacemaker open to dialogue.

　　He also wants a return to the Soviet¹⁰-era treatment of Russia, when it was respected as an equivalent but alternative voice to the United States in global affairs.

　　But during the May 9th “Victory Day” commemorations in Moscow marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two, Russia's military might was on full display as missiles and tanks rolled through Red Square.

　　While Putin demonstrated a warning to those who would challenge Russia's interests, Western leaders skipped the parade because of Ukraine.

　　But Kerry followed in the footsteps of German Chancellor¹¹ Angela Merkel and laid a wreath at a World War II memorial.

　　Both Kerry and Lavrov began their joint¹² press conference Tuesday voicing respect for those sacrificed in World War II, as well as the wartime alliance between the United States and Russia, which was then part of the Soviet Union.

1 annexation   

n.吞并，合并

参考例句：

• He mentioned the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910 .他提及1910年日本对朝鲜的吞并。
• I regard the question of annexation as belonging exclusively to the United States and Texas.我认为合并的问题，完全属于德克萨斯和美国之间的事。

2 thaw   

v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和

参考例句：

• The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
• The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

3 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

7 acquiescence   

n.默许；顺从

参考例句：

• The chief inclined his head in sign of acquiescence.首领点点头表示允许。
• This is due to his acquiescence.这是因为他的默许。

8 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

9 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

10 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

11 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

12 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。