2006年VOA标准英语-Russia-Georgia Relations Remain Strained

By Bill Gasperini
Moscow
15 June 2006

Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Georgian counterpart Mikhail Saakashvili this week in an attempt to improve relations that have become severely¹ strained over economic and political issues.  The two men insisted they want to change matters, but neither seemed ready to compromise.

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Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, right, shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin
  

The two presidents smiled for the cameras after their two-hour meeting on the sidelines of an economic forum² held in Russia's second city, St. Petersburg.
 
President Putin acknowledged that Russia's relations with its southern neighbor are not the best, but he said the two sides are trying to develop them in a more positive way.
 
The Georgian leader responded by saying that Georgia is a small country, and it is best left alone, and that no one will get even a meter of the Ossetian or Abkhaz territory.
 
This was a reference to the most contentious³ issue dividing Moscow and Tbilisi, which is the future of the two separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
 
Both broke away from Georgia after fighting brief wars more than a decade ago.   Russia now has a military presence in each, officially as peacekeepers enforcing cease-fire agreements.
 
But since coming to power after the so-called Rose revolution more than two years ago, Mr. Saakashvili has made a priority of regaining⁴ control over the two breakaway regions.
 
The South Ossetian and Abkaz leaders reject a return to Georgia and have even asked to be annexed⁵ by Russia.
 
South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity recently said he will pursue a civilized⁶ route for the people of the mountainous enclave, which he says is to maintain close ties with Russia.
 
There are occasional flare-ups of fighting in the region, with Georgia often accusing Russian troops of blocking villages where mostly ethnic⁷ Georgians live.
 
Russian Defense⁸ Minister Sergei Ivanov responded to this recently, saying Russia will resist what he called provocations⁹ and that Russia's military presence is to maintain peace in both regions.
 
At the St. Petersburg meeting, President Putin told Mr. Saakashvili that the territorial¹⁰ issues must be handled in accordance with the people's interests, not political expediency¹¹ or historical peculiarities¹²."
 
Georgia complains that smuggling¹³ of goods through South Ossetia has dealt a strong blow to its economy.
 
Tbilisi also accuses Moscow of imposing¹⁴ an economic blockade after Russia banned the importation of all Georgian wines and mineral water, its primary exports.  Russia has long been Georgia's biggest market for both, and the economic impact of the move is considerable.
 
Officially, the ban was declared after Russian health officials say they detected traces of chemicals in the Georgian products.
 
But Georgia responds that the move was entirely¹⁵ political, especially as Russia took similar action against nearby Moldova, which is also trying to distance itself from Moscow politically.

Not long ago, the wine and water ban was the subject of street protests in Moscow, where some protesters were detained for holding an illegal rally.  A similar demonstration¹⁶ in Georgia's capital Tbilisi involved Georgians dumping Russian vodka down a toilet they had placed in front of the Russian embassy.
 
Deteriorating economic conditions have added new pressure on Mr. Saakashvili in Georgia, where rallies against his rule have been taking place in recent weeks.
 
Sometimes these demonstrations¹⁷ have led to scuffles with police.  This man complains that Georgians have no life under Mr. Saakashvili's government.  Some protesters also oppose the Georgian leader's pro-Western policies.
 
Mr. Saakashvili has long talked of having Georgia enter the European Union and the NATO alliance someday, echoing a similar goal by neighboring Ukraine, which also has strained relations with Russia.
 
While such action is likely to be years away, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned recently that such a NATO expansion would have colossal¹⁸ geopolitical consequences, and that Russia would respond according to its own interests.

1 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

2 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

3 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

4 regaining   

复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• She was regaining consciousness now, but the fear was coming with her. 现在她正在恢发她的知觉，但是恐怖也就伴随着来了。
• She said briefly, regaining her will with a click. 她干脆地答道，又马上重新振作起精神来。

5 annexed   

[法] 附加的，附属的

参考例句：

• Germany annexed Austria in 1938. 1938年德国吞并了奥地利。
• The outlying villages were formally annexed by the town last year. 那些偏远的村庄于去年正式被并入该镇。

6 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

7 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

8 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。

9 provocations   

n.挑衅( provocation的名词复数 )；激怒；刺激；愤怒的原因

参考例句：

• We cannot ignore such provocations. 对于这种挑衅，我们不能置之不理。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They must immediately cease all their provocations. 他们必须停止一切挑衅。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

11 expediency   

n.适宜；方便；合算；利己

参考例句：

• The government is torn between principle and expediency. 政府在原则与权宜之间难于抉择。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was difficult to strike the right balance between justice and expediency. 在公正与私利之间很难两全。 来自辞典例句

12 peculiarities   

n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪

参考例句：

• the cultural peculiarities of the English 英国人的文化特点
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another. 他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

13 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

14 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

15 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

16 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

17 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

18 colossal   

adj.异常的，庞大的

参考例句：

• There has been a colossal waste of public money.一直存在巨大的公款浪费。
• Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.那座城市里的一些高层建筑很庞大。