VOA标准英语2009年-Syria Offers to Mediate With Iran

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is proposing to mediate¹ between the West and Iran, telling an Italian newspaper that he's prepared to act as a go-between to improve relations that have been further strained over Iran's nuclear program.
　
Syrian President Bashar Assad at emergency Arab leaders summit on Gaza in Doha, Qatar, 16 Jan 2009

President Assad's offer to mediate is a diplomatic initiative that could further help in Syria's own rapprochement with the U.S. and Europe.

He told the Italian daily La Repubblica that he was "ready to serve as a mediator² with Iran," if western nations came up with a "concrete proposal" to submit to Tehran.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy urged Mr. Assad, during a conference in France last July, to use his influence to help resolve Iran's nuclear standoff with the West.

President Assad noted³ that dialogue was the best means to end long-standing disputes with Tehran, arguing that any attempt to contain a country ends by strengthening it.

Hilal Kashan, Professor of Politics at the American University of Beirut, thinks it is unlikely the United States will take Mr. Assad up on his offer.

"I think that the Americans want to improve their relations with Syria to weaken Iran and to further isolate⁴ it in the region, so I don't think the Americans need Syria as a mediator with Iran, because that would improve relations between Tehran and Damascus," said Kashan. "The Americans want to distance Damascus from Tehran, plus, the Syrians are lacking in credibility to be used as mediators. [President] Assad would be more than eager to play the role of a mediator between the U.S. and anybody. You know he's willing to do anything to win the new administration's support, to listen to him and accommodate him."

President Assad praised U.S. President Barack Obama in his interview with La Repubblica, saying that "he has shown himself to be a man of his word….with the withdrawal⁵ from Iraq, the willingness for peace [and] the closure of Guantanamo."

Professor Fouad Ajami, who directs the Middle East Studies program at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, thinks President Assad is well placed to act as mediator with Iran.

"We know this in the court system as plea bargaining," said Ajami. "When you consider the situation of Bashar al-Assad, he himself is hunted down by a tribunal, now sitting in the Hague, investigating the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The Syrians straddle the fence between the order of conservative nations on the one hand and this alliance with Iran on the other and it would make perfect sense for Bashar al-Assad to pose as the mediator with the Iranians, which means: hey, if you folks think I'm bad, think of the Iranians, they're much worse, but I have credit in their bank and I can deal with the Iranians."

Syria has been allied⁶ with Tehran since the outset of the war between Iran and Iraq in 1980. Its ties with moderate Arab states Egypt and Saudi Arabia have been strained since the assassination⁷ of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005. Syria has denied involvement.

1 mediate   

vi.调解，斡旋；vt.经调解解决；经斡旋促成

参考例句：

• The state must mediate the struggle for water resources.政府必须通过调解来解决对水资源的争夺。
• They may be able to mediate between parties with different interests.他们也许能在不同利益政党之间进行斡旋。

2 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

3 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。

4 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。

5 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

6 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

7 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。