2006年VOA标准英语-UN Diplomats Still Divided Over Resolution to E

By Barbara Schoetzau
New York
03 August 2006

France's U.N. ambassador, Jean Marc de la Sabliere, says he is losing confidence in the Security Council's ability to quickly adopt a resolution to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

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Jean-Marc de la Sabliere, center, with Britain's Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry, right, and Germany's UN Ambassador Thomas Matussek, left, speak to reporters after a Security Council meeting (file photo)
  
Diplomats¹ had expected Council members to settle differences in time to adopt a resolution calling for a truce² within days.

At issue is the sequence of events leading to a cease-fire. The United States wants international troops sent into the buffer³ zone before a cease-fire. But the French, supported by the European Union, say that a cease-fire must come first.

Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said differences among Council members were narrowing. But Thursday,  Ambassador de la Sabliere indicated that defining a cessation of hostilities⁴ remains⁵ a problem.

Diplomats say Israel is willing to accept a truce, but reserves the right to respond to any aggression⁶, even after international troops are on the ground. The French, who are expected to lead the international force, say a truce should rule out defensive⁷ actions.

"The international force will deploy⁸ in a buffer zone where only the Lebanese army and the international force will be allowed," de la Sabliere said. "I think we have on this sequence an agreement, but we still have to discuss, as John Bolton has said yesterday, the qualification of the cessation of hostilities. For the Europeans, we think it is very clear: we think it should be a cessation of hostilities and then the nature and status of the agreement of the parties of all these elements for a sustainable solution."

De la Sabliere and Bolton are meeting in direct talks to try to resolve the stalemate. 
 
 

1 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

3 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。

4 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

7 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

8 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。