2007年VOA标准英语-Mideast Quartet Partners Spar over Engaging Syr

By David Gollust
State Department
02 February 2007

The international diplomatic "Quartet" on the Middle East Friday endorsed¹ an upcoming three-way U.S., Palestinian and Israeli meeting aimed at reopening discussion of final-status issues of the peace process. But Quartet principals disagreed openly on the wisdom of direct dialogue with Syria and the radical² Palestinian movement Hamas. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, back row in red suit, hosts meeting of the Mideast Quartet, at the State Department in Washington

The Quartet parties, the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, were united in their condemnation³ of recent Middle East violence, and their support for U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's upcoming joint⁴ meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

But there was open disagreement among the partners about the means to renew the stalled regional peace process, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov making clear his view that Syria should not be excluded from the dialogue.

The United States has shunned⁵ high-level contacts with Syria for nearly four years because of what U.S. officials say is its support for Palestinian radicals⁶, including Hamas, and continued meddling⁷ in Lebanon, among other things.

But at a joint news conference capping the Quartet meeting, Lavrov defended Moscow's contacts with both Syria and Hamas, which the Quartet has excluded from peacemaking because of its refusal to accept Israel's right to exist.

Lavrov said Russian diplomacy⁸ with Syria helped produce a recent meeting between Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas and the Syrian-based Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, which in turn led to the recent intra-Palestinian truce⁹ accord.

Heard through an interpreter, Lavrov said, to exclude significant parties from Mideast peace efforts generally is counter-productive:

"When we're talking about not only the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but about the resolution of various problems in the Middle East, be it Lebanon, or Syria or the Iraqi problems, we believe that it is counter-productive to isolate¹⁰ anybody," he said.  "And, we believe that to involve all those who could influence the situation is extremely necessary, so that this contribution or influence would be positive, not negative."

Rice defended the U.S. approach toward Syria, saying it had not cut off all contact with the Damascus government, which - she asserted - is in no doubt about what it needs to do to be a positive factor in the region:

"Syria doesn't need the United States to tell it what it could do to be a stabilizing¹¹ force," she noted¹².  "And I hope that [Syria] will, in fact, try to play a positive role rather than a negative one. The United States has diplomatic relations with Syria, has on many occasions talked to Syria, even at the highest levels. But we believe at this point in time that it is for Syria to act on what is a very obvious, what would be a very obvious path to help stabilize¹³ the region."

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose government currently holds the rotating EU presidency¹⁴, seemed to take a middle ground. Steinmeier, who visited Damascus in December, said he had done so to directly convey to Syrian leaders European concerns about its behavior. He is also heard through an interpreter:

"We are working for a comprehensive peace solution in the Middle East, and that means we will have to engage other partners, beyond Israel and Palestine," he explained.  "And I think, we share the view that Syria itself has to make it clear that it is willing to constructively¹⁵ engage in this peace process, and this is what I tried to impress upon the parties involved during my visit in Damascus."

Steinmeier said the Quartet partners agreed to convene¹⁶ again soon, after the Rice meeting with Mr. Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, to be held sometime during the middle of this month at a still undisclosed Middle East venue¹⁷.

The Quartet statement welcomed the Rice initiative, which it said could help define more clearly the "political horizon" for the Palestinian people, and help engender¹⁸ a sense of partnership¹⁹ between the parties.

Rice proposes to have an informal discussion with the two leaders on the so-called "final status" issues of the peace process, such as borders for a Palestinian state, refugees and the status of Jerusalem.

The Secretary says the talks, the first of their kind in six years, would complement²⁰ but not replace the Quartet's road map to a two-state Middle East settlement, issued in 2003, but still largely unfulfilled.

1 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

3 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

4 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。

5 shunned   

v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was shunned by her family when she remarried. 她再婚后家里人都躲着她。
• He was a shy man who shunned all publicity. 他是个怕羞的人，总是避开一切引人注目的活动。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 radicals   

n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals. 一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The worry is that the radicals will grow more intransigent. 现在人们担忧激进分子会变得更加不妥协。 来自辞典例句

7 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

8 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

9 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

10 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

11 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

14 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

15 constructively   

ad.有益的，积极的

参考例句：

• Collecting, by occupying spare time so constructively, makes a person contented, with no time for boredom. 如此富有意义地利用业余时间来进行收藏，会使人怡然自得，无暇烦恼。
• The HKSAR will continue to participate constructively in these activities. 香港会继续积极参与这些活动。

16 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。

17 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

18 engender   

v.产生，引起

参考例句：

• A policy like that tends to engender a sense of acceptance,and the research literature suggests this leads to greater innovation.一个能够使员工产生认同感的政策，研究表明这会走向更伟大的创新。
• The sense of injustice they engender is a threat to economic and political security.它们造成的不公平感是对经济和政治安全的威胁。

19 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

20 complement   

n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足

参考例句：

• The two suggestions complement each other.这两条建议相互补充。
• They oppose each other also complement each other.它们相辅相成。