VOA标准英语2008年-Georgia-Russia Ceasefire Fragile With Future Un

Russia and Georgia have signed a European-mediated ceasefire agreement, but each side continues to accuse the other of violating the terms. As VOA's Sonja Pace reports from London, efforts now are on diplomacy¹ to end the fighting, but the conflict's broader implications are not far behind.

The ink was barely dry on the ceasefire agreement when the warring sides began accusing each other of violating it.
　
Georgian soldiers set up their position near Gori, Georgia, northwest of capital Tbilisi, 13 Aug 2008

Russia said Georgia was not "actively²" withdrawing all its troops from South Ossetia, the breakaway region that sparked this conflict. Georgia accused Russia of continuing hostilities³ and occupying Georgian territory.

Each side has also accused the other of committing atrocities⁴, including summary executions, ethnic⁵ cleansing⁶ and even genocide.

International security analyst⁷ Michael Denison of London's Chatham House research center specializes in Russian and Eurasian affairs. He tells VOA there is hope the ceasefire will hold.

"I think it will hold from the Georgian point of view and I think the Russians have reached as far as they wish to anyway," Denison said. "So, I would hope and think that it is likely that with one or two perhaps smaller exceptions and micro-conflicts that might emerge, I think broadly the cease-fire is likely to hold."

Diplomatic efforts to implement⁸ the truce⁹ and move beyond that to peacekeeping are at a fever pitch, spearheaded largely by the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

But Michael Denison says the make up of a peacekeeping or monitoring force is likely to be a tough issue.

"The Georgians are very keen on having a genuine international peacekeeping force, perhaps administered by the OSCE, or the U.N. or maybe the EU. The Russians are adamant¹⁰ that that peacekeeping force should have a very significant Russian contingent¹¹ and that is where the sticking point will come," Denison said.

While efforts are now focused on an immediate¹² diplomatic solution, the question of who did what, when and why keeps being raised. As Finland's Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb reportedly said - the blame game and tough talk will come at a later stage.
　
A Russian military convoy¹³ near Gori, Georgia, 13 Aug 2008

The conflict was sparked when Georgian troops moved against Russian-backed separatist forces in South Ossetia last week. Russian peacekeepers were killed in the artillery¹⁴ barrages¹⁵ and Russia sent tanks and troops into the area. Within days the vastly outnumbered and outgunned Georgian forces were on the retreat and the government in Tbilisi was feverishly¹⁶ calling for international diplomatic intervention¹⁷ to stop the Russian onslaught.

Michael Denison says Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili gambled that South Ossetia's own ethnic mix and the population's discontent with the local government would make it easy to rout¹⁸ the separatists. But Denison says the president miscalculated.

"I would say he gambled - and it was not an unreasonable¹⁹ gamble - that this would be a fait accompli, that it would be over within hours, a day or two at the most and that Russia would be caught on its heels and effectively the matter could be dealt with, and South Ossetia could be re-integrated back into Georgia proper," Denison said. "He miscalculated the ferocity of the Russian response."

Denison says Russia reasoned that it had to protect its peacekeepers and the many South Ossetians who had been given Russian nationality or Moscow would look weak.
　
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, right, meets with PM Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, 13 Aug 2008

Looking weak is an anathema²⁰ to former Russian president and now prime minister, Vladimir Putin, says British lawmaker Bruce George from the ruling Labor²¹ party. George says the Russians have been stoking separatist fires in South Ossetia and provoked the fight.

"I think the Russian motives²² were pretty clear - fabricate a fight with Georgia, give a humiliating beating to the Georgians, put their opposition²³ to Russia into a box, try to get regime change, show the world that the big power is back as a big power," George said.

There is widespread agreement that Russia's actions in Georgia are sending a broader signal - that Russia after many years on the international sidelines, is once again a power to be reckoned with. That message is likely to be viewed with great concern in other former Soviet²⁴ Union satellite states, including nearby Azerbaijan and Ukraine, and its impact is also being felt in Russia's relations with Europe and the United States.

In Washington, U.S. President George Bush said Russia must keep its word and act to end the crisis in Georgia or risk its place in the international community.

 

1 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

2 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

3 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。

4 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 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。

6 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

7 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

8 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

9 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。

10 adamant   

adj.坚硬的，固执的

参考例句：

• We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上，我们是坚定不移的。
• Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。

11 contingent   

adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队

参考例句：

• The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
• Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。

12 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

13 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

14 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

15 barrages   

n.弹幕射击( barrage的名词复数 )；火力网；猛烈炮火；河上的堰坝v.火力攻击（或阻击）( barrage的第三人称单数 )；以密集火力攻击（或阻击）

参考例句：

• In many Basidiomycetes barrages develop. 在许多担子菌中也发生一些栅栏。 来自辞典例句
• It's fun to be able to run around and do instant Barrages. 一边瞬发奥术弹幕一边四处跑确实很有趣。 来自互联网

16 feverishly   

adv. 兴奋地

参考例句：

• Feverishly he collected his data. 他拼命收集资料。
• The company is having to cast around feverishly for ways to cut its costs. 公司迫切须要想出各种降低成本的办法。

17 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

18 rout   

n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮

参考例句：

• The enemy was put to rout all along the line.敌人已全线崩溃。
• The people's army put all to rout wherever they went.人民军队所向披靡。

19 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

20 anathema   

n.诅咒；被诅咒的人(物)，十分讨厌的人(物)

参考例句：

• Independence for the Kurds is anathema to Turkey and Iran.库尔德人的独立对土耳其和伊朗来说将是一场梦魇。
• Her views are ( an ) anathema to me.她的观点真叫我讨厌。

21 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

22 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

23 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

24 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。