2006年VOA标准英语-Russia Views Upcoming NATO Summit In Riga With

By Anya Ardayeva
Moscow
27 November 2006
 
watch NATO Summit report

The first NATO summit to be held on the territory of the former Soviet¹ Union is scheduled to begin in Riga, Latvia, on November 28th.  A number of issues are expected to be on the agenda, including deployment² of forces in Afghanistan, nuclear nonproliferation, NATO enlargement and energy security. And as Anya Ardayeva reports from Moscow, Russia is likely to keep close watch on the upcoming meeting.

---

The NATO logo

Analysts⁴ say the upcoming NATO summit in Riga is not likely to result in any improvement in what they call cold, but stable, relations between Russia and the alliance. 

Following the decision to accept the Baltic States into NATO in 2004, Russia's once close ally Ukraine has also expressed its intention to join. The Kremlin was also irritated by NATO’s recent decision to launch a so-called intensive dialogue with Georgia, whose president, Mikhail Saakashvili, has pledged to take his country into the alliance in 2008. However, analysts say no firm decision on Georgia's accession is expected.

Pavel Felgenhauer, an independent Moscow-based military analyst³, says the better NATO's relations are with the former Soviet republics, the worse its relations with Russia are likely to get.

"For many countries that are close to Russia, like the Baltic States, Poland, Moldova, potential members such as Ukraine and Georgia, as well as for many politicians in the countries of NATO, NATO is a guarantee that these countries will not be in Russia's sphere of influence,” says Felgenhauer. “That's why Russia and NATO are enemies and are not able to have good relations, the best thing they have is this cold co-operation to each other."

There are also concerns about Europe's growing dependence⁵ on Russian energy resources. The Russian state gas monopoly, Gazprom, currently supplies nearly a quarter of Europe's gas needs.

Evgeni Volk is the head of Moscow's office of The Heritage Foundation. He says the problem of energy security will be on the summit's agenda. "This problem is also part of NATO's authority. The countries of the Northern Alliance of course would like to diversify⁶ the sources of energy in order to depend on Russia less. This is a very complicated factor, especially in the light of growing prices on energy."

Recently, Russia has appeared to use its dominant⁷ role as an energy supplier to put pressure on states like Ukraine and Georgia by threatening to cut off supplies -- or actually cutting them off. It claims the moves were the result of price disputes, but observers say the real reason was the Russian displeasure at the so-called "color revolutions" in its former Soviet neighbors which led to pro-Western governments.

And it is not only pro-Western governments that are viewed as a threat to Russian interests these days. On the eve of the NATO summit in Riga, several Russian politicians have once again voiced their concerns about the "aggressive nature of the alliance" and measures that Russia should take to neutralize⁸ the perceived "threats" posed by its enlargement.

Analysts say the upcoming summit will be watched closely in the Kremlin because it is likely to define the tone of the relations between Russia and NATO for the near future.

1 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。

2 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 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。

5 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

6 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。

7 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

8 neutralize   

v.使失效、抵消，使中和

参考例句：

• Nothing could neutralize its good effects.没有什么能抵消它所产生的好影响。
• Acids neutralize alkalis and vice versa.酸能使碱中和碱，亦能使酸中和。