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15 布什总统将与北约首脑会面
Bush Prepares for Meeting with NATO Leaders
Deborah Tate
Madrid
13 Jun 2001 02:13 UTC
President Bush Wednesday meets with NATO leaders in Brussels to try to ease their concerns about his anti-missile defense proposals and his commitment to 1)peacekeeping in the Balkans.
Mr. Bush is expected to defend his proposal to 2)back away from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which Europeans view as a 3)cornerstone of arms control, to allow the establishment of a planned missile shield.
President Bush and Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar He offered a preview at a joint news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar in Madrid. "The ABM Treaty is a 4)relic of the past," he said. "It prevents freedom-loving people from exploring the future. That is why we have got to lay it aside. That is why we have got to have the framework, the discussions necessary to explain to our friends and 5)allies, as well as Russia, that our intent is to make the world more peaceful, not more dangerous."
Mr. Bush also will likely reassure the Europeans that the United States will not unilaterally pull its peacekeeping troops out of the Balkans. He had raised concern among allies during his campaign for the White House last year, when he suggested U.S. troops had been 6)overextended by too many peacekeeping 7)missions, including in the former Yugoslavia. At the time, he said he believed the Europeans should take on more of the responsibility of peacekeeping. Mr. Bush has since stepped back from that position.
In addition, Mr. Bush is expected to discuss NATO 8)expansion. Three former Warsaw Pact nations, Poland, Hungary and the Czech republic joined in 1999, and nine other former communist nations are seeking entry. NATO is expected to decide, at a summit in Prague next year, who the next members will be.
At a news conference in Madrid, Mr. Bush would not 9)endorse any specific candidates for entry into NATO. "It is not a question of whether, it is a question of when," he said. "We firmly believe NATO should expand. There is a process for member 10)applicants to go through, and we support that process."
Mr. Bush is also expected to discuss NATO's program to modernize defense 11)capabilities and its relations with Russia.
(1) peacekeeping[`pi:s9ki:pIN]adj.维护和平的,执行(或监督)停火协定的
(2) back away v.逐渐后退
(3) cornerstone[5kC:nEstEJn]n.墙角石, 基础
(4) relic[5relIk]n.遗物, 遗迹, 废墟
(5) allies[`AlaIz]n.联盟国, 同盟者
(6) overextend[9EJvErIk`stend]vt.过分扩展, 过分扩张
(7) mission[5mIF(E)n]n.使命, 任务, 使团, 代表团
(8) expansion[Ik5spAnF(E)n]n.扩充, 开展, 膨胀
(9) endorse[In5dC:s]v.在(票据)背面签名, 认可, 签署
(10) capability[keIpE5bIlItI]n.(实际)能力, 性能, 容量
(11) applicant[5AplIkEnt]n.申请者, 请求者
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