VOA标准英语2013--Turkey Unrest May Impact Syria Peace Talks

 

Turkey Unrest May Impact Syria Peace Talks

Turkey is a front-line state in the Syrian conflict.

Turks have been the victims of bombings along the border and host to more than 200,000 Syrian refugees.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has been working to unite the Syrian opposition¹ in hopes of getting them to peace talks, which have been put off until at least July.

"Turkey occupies a critical position in the way the Syrian conflict might unfold: whether negotiations² were to begin or whether the West, including Turkey, were to agree to take a more active policy in trying to contain the activities of the Assad regime," said Analyst³ Steve Heydemann, U.S. Institute of Peace.

But now Turkey's attention to the Syrian conflict is being diverted by days of anti-government political unrest inside Turkey.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the domestic backlash will not deter⁴ Ankara from its role in Syrian diplomacy⁵. "It’s not the first time any government has faced this kind of challenge," he said. "And I do expect Foreign Minister Davutoglu and the prime minister to remain engaged in the effort to try to resolve what is happening in Syria."

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been a leading critic of the Syrian regime.

But analyst Heydemann said the longer the war continues, the tougher it is for Turkey to keep backing the opposition.

"Turkey is going through a period in which I think they're feeling a bit of buyer's remorse⁶ about the level of support they've provided to the opposition of the past couple of years," he said. "They're beginning to rethink whether their antagonism⁷ toward the Assad regime is really paying off for them or not."

Erdogan said there is no going back on Turkey's involvement in inter-connected Mideast crises. "In this region, the issue of Syria, the issue of Palestine and Israel are the problem that need to be resolved, in order to have perpetual peace in the Middle East," he said.

Israeli-Turkish relations suffered three years ago when Israel assaulted a Turkish boat with peace activists⁸ taking food and other staples⁹ to the Gaza Strip.

Recently Erdogan has criticized Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah supply routes in Syria, complicating¹⁰ U.S. efforts to improve ties between Turkey and Israel.

"We are not going to tell the Israelis that if they feel a critical security red line in Syria has been crossed they should not act. But if we endorse¹¹, even if we endorse tacitly, Israeli action in Syria, it makes it all the harder for Erdogan and for Turkey to sustain that effort to rebuild ties with Israel," said Heydemann.

Even as U.S. officials express concern about the use of force against Turkish anti-government demonstrators, the two countries continue to work closely towards talks on a transitional authority in Syria. 

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

5 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。

6 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

7 antagonism   

n.对抗，敌对，对立

参考例句：

• People did not feel a strong antagonism for established policy.人们没有对既定方针产生强烈反应。
• There is still much antagonism between trades unions and the oil companies.工会和石油公司之间仍然存在着相当大的敌意。

8 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

10 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

11 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。