VOA标准英语2009年-NATO, Russia Revive Dialogue

Foreign ministers from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, have recently agreed to resume ties with Russia that were suspended in August as a result of Moscow's five-day war with Georgia.

The NATO/Russia Council was created in 2002 as a forum¹ for dialogue and cooperation between the former Cold War enemies. It provides a forum for the 26 NATO member countries and Russia to address issues where they agree - such as combating terrorism and curtailing² the spread of nuclear weapons - and areas where they disagree - such as NATO expansion and missile defense³.

Last August, NATO suspended its cooperation with Russia following its five-day war with Georgia. At that time, NATO condemned⁴ Moscow's military action as "disproportionate" and said it cannot continue "business as usual" with Russia. It also rejected Moscow's recognition of Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states.

But at a recent meeting in Brussels, NATO foreign ministers agreed to reestablish normal relations with Moscow and resume the work of the NATO/Russia Council.
　
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop⁵ Scheffer

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer announced the decision.

"Russia is an important player," he said. "Russia is a global player. And that means that not talking to them is not an option."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, attending her first NATO meeting, echoed that view.

"While the Alliance won't agree and indeed need not agree on every issue relating to Russia, we can and do agree that we must find ways to work constructively⁶ with Russia where we share areas of common interest," she said. "We also agree we must find ways to manage our differences with Russia where they persist and stand firm where our principles or our vital interests are at stake."

Many experts, including Jason Lyall from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, question whether anything has changed in seven months to warrant NATO's about face.
　
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (r) with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during their meeting in Geneva, 06 Mar⁷ 2009

"Absolutely nothing has changed," he said. "In fact, Russia has continued to transgress⁸ against the peace plan which was supposed to have stopped the war. Russia has dug itself in, basically, into Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It has now fortified⁹ military bases in those locations. And so it has done very, very little to justify¹⁰ the U-turn in relations. I think it is more a recognition on NATO's part that it is much better to have Russia inside the fold than it is to have Russia outside the fold."

Sean Kay of Ohio Wesleyan University says that despite the alliance's decision to resume relations with Russia, NATO countries are still divided over the issue.

"Allies in NATO, the key allies - in particular Germany and France - are very keen to pursue a much better relationship with Russia," he said. "And so the idea of a kind of longer lasting¹¹ sort of punishment post-Georgia was just simply not likely. There are divisions within NATO on that that have become public. Some of the Eastern European countries are not as happy with this new overture¹² toward Russia, but that's understandable given their historical perspective. But at the end of the day, we need to move forward."

Jason Lyall says NATO inevitably¹³ will continue to have intense internal debates on how close the alliance's relationship should be with Russia.

"Right now, it has been decided¹⁴ in favor of the people who want to have a close dialogue with Russia," he said. "I think the sporadic¹⁵ interruption of oil supplies, energy supplies to Europe, has tipped the balance toward the fact that they would rather have Russia in a dialogue than Russia outside a dialogue."

Many analysts¹⁶ say another contributing factor to NATO's turnaround on Russia is the fact that the Obama administration has vowed¹⁷ to establish a positive relationship with Moscow.

Experts say Russia and NATO have many issues to discuss - from arms control, missile defense and European security to NATO expansion, Afghanistan and Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions.

Robert Hunter, who served as U.S. Ambassador to NATO during the Clinton administration, says it is now up to the Russians to work with the alliance.

"And we'll see whether they are prepared to take a cooperative stance within the NATO/Russia Council or whether it'll just be some of the stonewalling we saw even before the war between Russia and Georgia last year," he said. "To go back to what President [Ronald] Reagan once said, 'Trust, but verify.' I would put it the other way around. Right now, we need to have Russia show that it's not going to repeat in any way, shape or form what it did in Georgia and then trust will be built again."

A NATO spokeswoman said the NATO/Russia Council will meet next month, soon after the alliance's summit meeting in early April.

1 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。

2 curtailing   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They will be curtailing the discussions at two thirty. 他们将把讨论缩短至两点半。 来自互联网
• Individually, banks are acting rationally by retaining their capital and curtailing lending. 此外，银行们正在合理地保留其资本和减少贷款。 来自互联网

3 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。

4 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

5 hoop   

n.（篮球）篮圈，篮

参考例句：

• The child was rolling a hoop.那个孩子在滚铁环。
• The wooden tub is fitted with the iron hoop.木盆都用铁箍箍紧。

6 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。

7 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

8 transgress   

vt.违反，逾越

参考例句：

• Your words must't transgress the local laws .你的言辞不能违反当地法律。
• No one is permitted to have privileges to transgress the law. 不允许任何人有超越法律的特权。

9 fortified   

adj. 加强的

参考例句：

• He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
• The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。

10 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

11 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

12 overture   

n.前奏曲、序曲，提议，提案，初步交涉

参考例句：

• The opera was preceded by a short overture.这部歌剧开始前有一段简短的序曲。
• His overture led to nothing.他的提议没有得到什么结果。

13 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

14 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

15 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

16 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。

17 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。