Obama: Tensions With Russia Can be Worked Out

 U.S. President Barack Obama says tensions with Russia can be worked out following talks with the Russian president spanning a range of topics, including Syria, Iran and trade. 

During a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Mexico Monday, Mr. Obama said he and President Vladimir Putin agree on the need to seek an end to the violence in Syria. Mr. Putin said he and Mr. Obama found many "common points'' in their discussion on Syria. 

Russia, a longtime ally of Syria, has shielded its President Bashar al-Assad from United Nations sanctions sought by Western and Arab states opposed to his 11-year rule and his violent crackdown on the opposition¹.

With respect to Iran, Mr. Obama said he and President Putin share an approach to resolving the nuclear standoff and said there is still time for a solution. 

The American and Russian leaders held their talks at the seaside resort of Los Cabos, as leaders of the world's leading economies gathered for a two-day summit. It was their first meeting since Mr. Putin's return to the presidency² after his election in March.   

Mr. Obama and Mr. Putin have had a prickly relationship of late, with the U.S. leader pointedly³ delaying a customary congratulatory call to his Russian counterpart after the election. Last month, Mr. Putin stayed home rather then attend a Group of Eight meeting Mr. Obama hosted at his presidential retreat near Washington.

President Obama also met Monday with German Chancellor⁴ Angela Merkel in a new effort to seek bolder European action to resolve the governmental debt crisis in the 17-nation euro currency bloc⁵. After the private meeting, the White House said Mr. Obama was "encouraged" by the talk. 

Even as Greek leaders moved to form a new coalition⁶ government after Sunday's parliamentary elections, there were new concerns about Spain's surging borrowing costs.

The G20 host, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, said the world leaders need to firm up their $430 billion in pledges for a new account the International Monetary⁷ Fund created in April as a eurozone rescue fund for its debt-ridden countries. Some countries have yet to fully⁸ commit money for the bailout account.

After meeting with President Obama, the Mexican leader called his decision last week to halt the deportation⁹ of some young illegal immigrants from the U.S. an act of "valor¹⁰ and courage." Conservative critics of Mr. Obama in the U.S. have called the decision a form of providing amnesty for the youths who were brought illegally to the U.S. by their parents.

Recent gatherings¹¹ of the G20, with leaders from the world's leading economies, have been consumed with details of the European financial crisis, amid fears that an economic collapse¹² on the continent would quickly spread across the globe. 

But representatives of some non-governmental agencies are also pressing the heads of state to not overlook the plight¹³ of poor, non-industrialized countries, where most of the world's neediest people live.

1 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。

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 pointedly   

adv.尖地，明显地

参考例句：

• She yawned and looked pointedly at her watch. 她打了个哈欠，又刻意地看了看手表。
• The demand for an apology was pointedly refused. 让对方道歉的要求遭到了断然拒绝。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

10 valor   

n.勇气，英勇

参考例句：

• Fortitude is distinct from valor.坚韧不拔有别于勇猛。
• Frequently banality is the better parts of valor.老生常谈往往比大胆打破常规更为人称道。

11 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

12 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

13 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。