VOA常速英语2007年-Rice Says Serbia, Kosovo, Will Stay Separate

By David Gollust
Washington
22 December 2007

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday Serbia and Kosovo will never be part of the same country again, and all those concerned should work for a stable outcome in the Balkans based on that reality. At a year-end news conference, Rice promised dialogue with Serbia and Russia, which have opposed Kosovar independence. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Rice stopped short of endorsing¹ a timetable for Kosovo independence, but she made clear her expectation that the majority-Albanian Serbian province will soon be on its own, and urged all concerned parties to accept that reality.

A final round of talks between Kosovar and Serbian officials mediated² by the United States, the European Union and Russia ended inconclusively earlier this month.

Serbia, backed by its ally Moscow, had offered a maximum degree of autonomy but not independence for the region.

In the aftermath of the talks, U.S. and European Union officials have made clear they favor giving Kosovo supervised independence under the plan presented last March by U.N. special envoy³ Martti Ahtisaari.

Kosovar leaders in Pristina have said they will announce independence early in the coming year.

Asked about such a prospect⁴, Rice said it will be important to take decisions about Kosovo's status in the next several weeks, and that not doing so would be destabilizing:

"The fact is that Kosovo and Serbia are never going to be part of the same state again. I think that's quite clear. It was the logic⁵ even of (UN Resolution) 1244 on the special status accorded Kosovo as a result of the war. And the important thing is for these two peoples to get on with their futures," she said.

Kosovo has been under U.N. administration since 1999 under terms of Security Council Resolution 1244.

The measure was approved after a NATO air campaign drove out Serbian troops who were trying to crush a separatist uprising by ethnic⁶ Albanians in Kosovo.

Rice said the United States is working closely with the European Union, reaching out to the Kosovars to stress their responsibilities under the Ahtisaari plan, while assuring Serbia of its future in European institutions if it accepts a transition.

The Ahtisaari plan includes elaborate safeguards for the rights of Kosovo's Serb minority. NATO has 16-thousand peacekeeping troops in Kosovo and has promised to keep them there indefinitely. The European Union last week pledged to send 18-hundred police and administrative⁷ officials to further assure security.

Rice said earlier this week she does not expect Russia or Serbia to threaten Kosovars or destabilize the Balkans and said it is in the interest of neither to do so.

In interview comments Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow will veto any effort within the United Nations to make Kosovo independent. He said dealing⁸ with the matter outside of the U.N. would be a step toward the demise⁹ of the world body.

Moscow argues that recognizing Kosovo over Belgrade's objections would set a dangerous precedent¹⁰ for other European regions where separatist sentiments are high.

1 endorsing   

v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• Yet Communist leaders are also publicly endorsing religion in an unprecedented way. 不过，共产党领导层对宗教信仰的公开认可也是以前不曾有过的。 来自互联网
• Connecticut Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman is endorsing Republican Senator John McCain. 康涅狄格州独立派参议员约瑟夫。列波曼将会票选共和议员约翰。麦凯恩。 来自互联网

2 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

3 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

4 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

5 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

6 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

7 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

8 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

9 demise   

n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让

参考例句：

• He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标，但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
• The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。

10 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。