VOA常速英语2008年-US Recognizes Kosovo, Reaffirms Friendship With

By David Gollust
State Department
18 February 2008
 

The United States joined major European allies in recognizing the independence of Kosovo from Serbia. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said recognition is the only viable¹ option to promote stability in the region. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

U.S. recognition of Kosovo came as no surprise, since the Bush administration strongly supported last year's plan of U.N. envoy² Martti Ahtisaari to give the breakaway Serbian province internationally-supervised independence.

In a written statement that followed recognition announcements by several U.S. European allies, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said independence is the only viable option for stability, given the region's turbulent history.

Rice rejected the notion advanced by Russia and others that Kosovo independence will spur other secessionist movements, saying it cannot be seen as a precedent³ elsewhere.

She said the unusual combination of factors in Kosovo's recent history, including ethnic-cleansing against its ethnic-Albanian majority, are not found elsewhere and make it a special case.

At the same time, Rice reaffirmed U.S. friendship with Serbia and urged Belgrade - which bitterly opposed independence - to work with the United States and its EU partners on shared goals including the protection of Kosovo's Serb minority.

[In Belgrade, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica told parliament the U.S. continues a policy of using force against his country, and ordered the ambassador, Ivan Bujacic, to return home.]

In a telephone conference call with reporters, Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns stressed the U.S. interest in good relations with Serbia and in helping⁴ Belgrade - a diplomatic outcast since the 1990's Balkans conflict - find a future with Europe:

"We see Serbia as part of Europe and we know that the Balkans is the last part of Europe that has not received the benefits of the end of the Cold War, economic or political," said Nicholas Burns. "Yugoslavia had to break up, and it did, and this is the last vestige⁵ of the former Yugoslavia - the fact that Kosovo has now become free and independent. Now we hope the Serb people, the Kosovars, the Bosnians, the Montenegrins, the Croatians, Albanians, Macedonians - all of them - can look towards a future in Europe, and that is with the EU and NATO."

Burns said Rice, in Africa with President Bush, telephoned Serbian President Boris Tadic to stress that theme Sunday and also talked to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whose government has called Kosovo's independence move illegal.

The under-secretary said the Bush administration has been deferential⁶ to Russia and delayed recognizing Kosovo to allow for more negotiations⁷ between Serbia and the Kosovars co-chaired by Moscow, the United States, and European Union, the so-called Troika.

He said when those talks failed late last year, it was time to move ahead on recognition, but he expects no fundamental rift⁸ with Moscow that will harm other areas of U.S.-Russian cooperation:

"For countries to say somehow this [recognition] is a shock, or that this is not a correct step politically or legally, we just fundamentally disagree with that point," said Burns. "So I do not expect any kind of crisis with Russia over this. We expect the Russians to be supportive of stability in the region. And I think that all of us are going to be requesting that people remain calm, and that the Kosovar authorities be allowed to establish this government and to move forward."

Burns stressed that the 17,000 - member NATO force in Kosovo, which includes 1,600 U.S. troops, will remain indefinitely along with European Union police to assure security and protect the interests of the ethnic-Serbs

He said the United States and European partners are planning a donor's conference for Kosovo in the coming months to support the newly-independent government and that it can expect $335 million in bilateral⁹ U.S. aid for 2008, a four-fold increase over last year.

1 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 vestige   

n.痕迹，遗迹，残余

参考例句：

• Some upright stones in wild places are the vestige of ancient religions.荒原上一些直立的石块是古老宗教的遗迹。
• Every vestige has been swept away.一切痕迹都被一扫而光。

6 deferential   

adj. 敬意的，恭敬的

参考例句：

• They like five-star hotels and deferential treatment.他们喜欢五星级的宾馆和毕恭毕敬的接待。
• I am deferential and respectful in the presence of artists.我一向恭敬、尊重艺术家。

7 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。

8 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

9 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。