VOA标准英语2013--Syria Conflict Exposes Old Rivalries at G8 Summit

 

Syria Conflict Exposes Old Rivalries¹ at G8 Summit

Intense gun battles rage in the heart of Damascus and Aleppo on the same day that G8 leaders gather in Northern Ireland.

The gulf² of disagreement on how to end the fighting appears to be widening.

Chris Phillips of Queen Mary University, London, argues Moscow has been the most consistent international player in the conflict.

"The Russians have always backed the principle of state sovereignty. As they see it, the Syrians have a right to conclude their affairs inside Syria as they wish. Russia itself is an autocratic regime and is not very keen on any major attempts to undermine the principle of state sovereignty and they are going to stand by that," said Phillips.

British Prime Minister David Cameron hosted Vladimir Putin on the eve of the summit, and reiterated³ his position that the Syrian president must go.

Putin was equally blunt, rejecting the position of Britain, the United States and France that the Syrian rebels should be armed.

"I want to draw your attention to the fact that Russia supplies arms to the legitimate⁴ government of Syria in full compliance⁵ of international law. We are not breaching⁶ any laws, let me emphasize that: nothing. We call on all our partners to act in the same fashion," said Putin.

Chris Phillips says that Western hesitation⁷ over supporting the opposition⁸ in Syria has emboldened⁹ Moscow.

"They're not actually willing to put in the kind of resources that the sides that want to preserve Assad are willing to put in. The amount of money and weapons being sent by Russia and by Assad's key ally Iran and their key supporters in Hezbollah from Lebanon is vast," he said.

President Putin will find that on Syria, it is him against seven others at the G8, says Professor Christopher Brown of the London School of Economics and Political Science.

"It would be actually an achievement if the G8 leaders could collectively put pressure on the opposition and on the government, to attend - to just getting a conference would be a position which is better than the position we're in at the moment," said Brown.

Brown says any progress hinges on the historic rival Cold War powers finding common ground.

"I think there'll be plenty of opportunities for Putin and Obama to sit down together without other people around. Funnily enough I think this is the right forum¹⁰ for dealing¹¹ with Syria. It's not the right forum for dealing with economic problems, because it doesn't have China and India there," he said.

Healing the world economy is high on the agenda in Enniskillen. But analysts¹² say the continuing bloodshed in Syria is exposing a widening divide among old rivals. 

1 rivalries   

n.敌对，竞争，对抗( rivalry的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new government was torn by rivalries. 新政府由于各派对立而四分五裂。 来自辞典例句
• Rivalries could bring about pain and hatred or give rise to fighting. 竞争会带来痛苦、仇恨，或者引起争斗。 来自互联网

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

4 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

5 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

6 breaching   

攻破( breach的过去式 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。
• Third, an agency can abuse its discretion by breaching certain principles of judge-made law. 第三，行政机关会因违反某些法官制定的法律原则而构成滥用自由裁量权。

7 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

8 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。

9 emboldened   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine, he went over to introduce himself to her. 他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• His success emboldened him to expand his business. 他有了成就因而激发他进一步扩展业务。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

11 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。

12 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。