VOA标准英语2008年-Russian General: Withdrawal from Georgia to Tak

Russia says all of its forces in Georgia will be withdrawn¹ by late Friday into a 'buffer² zone' around the separatist region of South Ossetia, where Georgian troops will no longer be allowed. Georgia, however, doubts Moscow's assurances, and says the boundaries of the buffer zone are not clearly defined. VOA Correspondent Peter Fedynsky reports from Moscow.
　
Russian soldiers sit atop a tank, with a portrait of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in the background, in Tskhinvali, the main city of the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia, 20 Aug 2008

General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, the deputy head of Russia's General Staff, told a Moscow news conference that, once Russian troops are in the buffer zone along the perimeter³ of South Ossetia, Russia will observe a 1992 peacekeeping agreement with Georgia. However, he says Russia is amending⁴ the agreement to exclude Georgian forces from the area.

Nogovitsyn says Georgian leaders recalled their peacekeeping forces in South Ossetia at the start of the invasion and sent them in the direction of the regional capital, Tskhinvali, thus violating the agreement. The general says that, in Russia's view, Georgia, therefore, has no right to engage in peacekeeping activities in the buffer zone.

Georgia disagrees with Russian peacekeeping role

Georgian officials say that Russia is the aggressor, and may not be considered a peacekeeper itself. Interior Ministry⁵ spokesman Shota Utiashvili told VOA that the buffer zone around South Ossetia is ill-defined and that Russia is "playing games" with the facts.

Utiashvili says Russian officials show journalists one thing during the day, and return their forces at night. He claims that the number of checkpoints and amount of territory held by Russian forces are not decreasing.

Russian troop movements may be hurting regional economy

Utiashvili says Russian troops still control the main highway between the central city of Gori and Tbilisi, which is not only hurting the Georgian economy, but also that of neighboring Armenia, which receives many of its imports via Georgia.

Meanwhile, thousands of people gathered for independence rallies in the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, and Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia, another breakaway region of Georgia. The Russian parliament is expected to review possible Russian recognition of Abkhaz independence, something the region's president, Sergei Bagapsh, is counting on.

Will Russia back Abkhazia's quest for independence?

The Abkhaz leader says Abkhazia does not yet know which position Russia's leadership will take on its independence, but he hopes it will be, "the right one." Bagapsh says, at this point, the most important concern is Russia's position.

Georgian spokesman Utiashvili doubts the sincerity⁶ of Abkhaz and South Ossetian demonstrators, saying Russia has thousands of troops in those regions and the demonstrations⁷ were merely representing what he referred to as "Russia's official line."

New survey shows Russians blame US influence in Caucasus for Georgia hostilities⁸

Meanwhile, a new nationwide survey by the independent Levada Center in Moscow indicates 49 percent of Russians blame the onset⁹ of hostilities in Georgia on an attempt by U.S. leaders to expand American influence in the Caucasus. Only 32 percent blamed discriminatory Georgian policies toward South Ossetians and Abkhazians. Another Levada poll indicates a hardening of Russian public opinion about the United States. Nearly 40 percent consider U.S.-Russian relations to be cool, and 28 percent say they are hostile, twice the figure in 2007.

 

1 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

2 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。

3 perimeter   

n.周边，周长，周界

参考例句：

• The river marks the eastern perimeter of our land.这条河标示我们的土地东面的边界。
• Drinks in hands,they wandered around the perimeter of the ball field.他们手里拿着饮料在球场周围漫不经心地遛跶。

4 amending   

改良，修改，修订( amend的现在分词 )； 改良，修改，修订( amend的第三人称单数 )( amends的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Amending acts in 1933,1934, and 1935 attempted to help honest debtors rehabilitate themselves. 一九三三年，一九三四年和一九三五年通过的修正案是为了帮助诚实的债务人恢复自己的地位。
• Two ways were used about the error-amending of contour curve. 采用两种方法对凸轮轮廓曲线进行了修正。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 sincerity   

n.真诚，诚意；真实

参考例句：

• His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。
• He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。

7 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

8 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。

9 onset   

n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始

参考例句：

• The drug must be taken from the onset of the infection.这种药必须在感染的最初期就开始服用。
• Our troops withstood the onset of the enemy.我们的部队抵挡住了敌人的进攻。