2006年VOA标准英语-Russia and Iran Hold Talks on Russian Nucl

By Lisa McAdams
Moscow
20 February 2006

Russian and Iranian negotiators are holding talks in Moscow on a Russian compromise that is seen as a last chance to spare Iran from being called before the U.N. Security Council for possible punitive¹ action for its controversial nuclear program.

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The talks appeared to get off to a rocky start as local news agencies quoted the head of the Iranian delegation² as saying the Russian compromise proposal is not linked to demands for Iran to resume a moratorium³ on uranium enrichment.

Russia's Itar-Tass news agency quotes the Iranian negotiator as saying he did not foresee any pre-conditions. But a different message was relayed from Iran's foreign minister over the weekend leading up to the discussions.

 
Manouchehr Mottaki (file photo)
  
Manouchehr Mottaki told Russian television that Iran is open to any and all proposals that help it deal with what he called, "this difficult situation."

The Iranian foreign minister says, as he sees it, there are two issues at hand: one is Iran's right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes; and the other is easing the concerns of the world community.

Under the compromise, Russia would carry out sensitive enrichment for Iran in order to ensure that no uranium is diverted to weapons development, as the United States and Europe fear.

Western concerns grew considerably⁴ after Iran restarted small-scale enrichment.
 

Sergey Lavrov (file photo)   
  
Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow's compromise proposal was "conditional⁵" on Iran abandoning all enrichment activity. Russian officials have also said they will press hard for Iran to restore its moratorium in order to give this week's talks a fighting chance.

Lavrov earlier said, in remarks broadcast on Russian television, that there has never been a case in history, in Russia's view, where sanctions have achieved the desired goal. For this reason, he says, Russia continues to believe that the only way forward is through continued negotiation⁶ with Iran.

"Many West European countries do not want any sanctions," he said. "Russia does not want any sanctions - China - and quite a lot of others ... not because we want to be complacent⁷ vis-a-vis the threat to nuclear non-proliferation regime. On the contrary, we do believe that this regime (Non-proliferation Treaty) must be strengthened and must not be violated. But sanctions would not achieve this goal. What would achieve this goal is negotiations⁸ and reliance on the professionalism of the experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)."

On March 6, the IAEA is due to hold a meeting that could result in Iran being ordered before the U.N. Security Council for possible punitive action, including sanctions.

That is why this week's talks in Moscow are being so closely watched for any signs that the stand-off could be resolved.

Aside from hoping to boost its role on the world stage through mediating⁹ the negotiations, Russia has considerable economic interests in Iran. Later this week, the head of Russia's atomic energy agency (Rosatom), Sergei Kiriyenko, is scheduled to travel to Tehran to inspect the Bushehr nuclear construction site Russia is helping¹⁰ Iran to build.

1 punitive   

adj.惩罚的，刑罚的

参考例句：

• They took punitive measures against the whole gang.他们对整帮人采取惩罚性措施。
• The punitive tariff was imposed to discourage tire imports from China.该惩罚性关税的征收是用以限制中国轮胎进口的措施。

2 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

3 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

4 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

5 conditional   

adj.条件的，带有条件的

参考例句：

• My agreement is conditional on your help.你肯帮助我才同意。
• There are two forms of most-favored-nation treatment:conditional and unconditional.最惠国待遇有两种形式:有条件的和无条件的。

6 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

7 complacent   

adj.自满的；自鸣得意的

参考例句：

• We must not become complacent the moment we have some success.我们决不能一见成绩就自满起来。
• She was complacent about her achievements.她对自己的成绩沾沾自喜。

8 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。

9 mediating   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的现在分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• So many factors are mediating. 如此众多的因素在起作用。
• The contrast in mediating noted in the sitting room. 客厅中注重了调和中的对比。

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。