VOA标准英语2008年-Russia Claims Right to Increase Troop Strength

Russia is claiming the right to increase the number of troops it has in and around South Ossetia, where it is also establishing additional checkpoints in response to what it says is a "continued Georgian threat." VOA correspondent Peter Fedynsky has this report from Moscow.
　
Russia's deputy chief of General Staff Col.-Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn addresses the media in Moscow (file photo)

Just hours before Russia was scheduled to withdraw its troops to a buffer¹ zone in and around South Ossetia, the deputy head of Russia's General Staff, General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, told a Moscow news conference the situation in Georgia can hardly be described as stable. General Nogovitysn accused Georgia of concentrating its forces in preparation for renewed fighting, but based the claim on intelligence he said was four days old. There are no independent reports of Georgian troop concentrations.

General Nogovitsyn said there are more than 2,100 Russian peacekeepers in the South Ossetia region, adding that Moscow reserves the right to send more if necessary. Senior Kremlin officials, including President Dmitri Medvedev said on Thursday that all Russian troops would be withdrawn² to a buffer zone around South Ossetia by late Friday.

Russia says peacekeeping operation will be permanent

General Nogovitsyn says the peacekeeping operation will be permanent and Russian check points are being engineered accordingly. The work, he says, is ongoing³ and involves official positions designed not for ambush⁴, but for various peacekeeping operations.
　
Russian soldiers on top of APC near Khurvaleti, 60 km northwest of Tbilisi, 22 Aug 2008

Western news agencies offer a mixed assessment⁵ of the withdrawal⁶ from Georgia, with some reports indicating movement of Russian troops and heavy equipment north toward Russia, while others say some troops appear to be occupying strategic positions in Georgia. Independent Russian military analyst⁷ Alexander Khramchikhin told VOA Russia may not meet its own withdrawal deadline in Georgia.

Khramchikhin says he doubts whether the withdrawal will happen on time, if only because narrow roads in the area make quick movement of vehicles difficult.

US says Russian troops departing at 'snail's pace'

In Tbilisi Friday, U.S. General John Craddock, NATO's supreme⁸ allied⁹ commander said Russian troops are leaving Georgia at "a snail's pace." And the commander of Russian ground forces, General Vladimir Boldyrev, said Thursday it would take 10 days to complete the troop withdrawal from Georgia.

Meanwhile, the new U.S. ambassador to Russia, John Beyrle, gave his first major interview to Russian media since his arrival in Moscow early last month. The American envoy¹⁰ told the Kommersant newspaper the United States did not want to see a recourse to violence and force in Georgia and made that very, very clear to Georgian leaders. Beyrle also acknowledges that Russian peacekeepers responded legitimately¹¹, but having advanced onto Georgian soil, they called that country's territorial¹² integrity into question. Commenting on the possible effect of the conflict on U.S.-Russian economic relations, Ambassador Beyrle said the United States supports Russian membership in the World Trade Organization, noting that a strong bilateral¹³ economic relationship can sometimes serve as a shock absorber when the political relationship experiences stresses and strains.

In another development, Russia's Central Bank announced Thursday that the country lost more than $16 billion in the week following the beginning of military operations in Georgia on August 8. Financial observers attribute the loss to nervous investors¹⁴ pulling capital from Russia during the war and to a recent improvement in the value of the U.S. dollar.

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

5 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

6 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

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 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

9 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

10 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。

11 legitimately   

ad.合法地；正当地，合理地

参考例句：

• The radio is legitimately owned by the company. 该电台为这家公司所合法拥有。
• She looked for nothing save what might come legitimately and without the appearance of special favour. 她要的并不是男人们的额外恩赐，而是合法正当地得到的工作。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

12 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

13 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。

14 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会