2007年VOA标准英语-Russia to Respond if US Rejects Missile-Defense

By Peter Fedynsky
Moscow
04 July 2007

Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov says the term "Cold War" will be forgotten if the United States accepts his country's missile-defense plan for Europe.  But Ivanov is also threatening to deploy¹ Russian missiles near Poland if Washington rejects the Kremlin offer.  VOA Moscow Correspondent Peter Fedynsky reports.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, wearing sunglasses and First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, background, visit a Command and Control Center in Rostov-on-Don, 29 June 2007

Speaking to reporters in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said Russia will cancel plans to deploy missiles in its Kaliningrad enclave if the United States accepts a Kremlin plan for a European missile-defense system.  The Russian Baltic enclave is surrounded by Poland and Lithuania, both NATO members.   

Ivanov's statement carries the implied threat of an arms race in response to an American plan to deploy missiles in Poland and a radar² installation in the Czech Republic.  The United States says the system would guard against a possible attack by Iran.  Ivanov says his country's proposal is better for NATO than America's.

Ivanov says that Russia together with the NATO allies can create a system that would defend not just some NATO members, but all of them.  He says the American plan will not defend all. 

Ivanov's statement follows a proposal made by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his meeting with President Bush in Kennebunkport, Maine.  The proposal would add a radar facility in southern Russia to an earlier proposal for a Russian radar facility in Azerbaijan, a former Soviet³ republic that borders Iran.

President Bush said in Kennebunkport that Mr. Putin's proposal is worth considering.  But Mr. Bush added that the Czech Republic and Poland need to be an integral part of a NATO missile-defense system.

Ivanov's statement represents a Russian carrot and stick: Accept our proposal, he says, and the term "Cold War" will be forgotten.  Reject it, and we will deploy missiles against you.

1 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

2 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

3 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。