Merkel, Medvedev Address Russian-German Forum

 　　Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and German Chancellor¹ Angela Merkel discussed a wide range of topics on the second and final day of an annual Russian-German forum² in Hanover, Germany.

　　The German and Russian leaders spoke³ Tuesday about their countries' business ties and international issues, including the ongoing⁴ Libya conflict and Europe's debt crisis.

　　Ties between Russia and Germany are generally viewed as solid, but they promised to address their disagreements frankly⁵ as they try to strengthen business ties.

　　Berlin is one of Russia's biggest trading partners, and Merkel and Medvedev signed several business agreements, including a deal to send more Russian natural gas to Germany.

　　At a joint⁶ news conference, Merkel said a European Union summit Thursday will not yield a quick and comprehensive solution to deal with the Greek debt crisis.

　　Medvedev appeared to drop a hint about his future political plans and desire to remain Russia's president. He said he and Merkel agreed they would not be chairing the forum soon. Traditionally, the leaders of Russia and Germany meet and speak at the forum, but do not chair it.

1 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

2 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。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 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。

5 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。