约翰·克里访问中东，越南，菲律宾

 　　约翰·克里访问中东，越南，菲律宾

　　WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will return to the Middle East this week to push for Israeli- Palestinian peace talks in a trip that will also take him to Vietnam and the Philippines, the State Department said Monday.

　　The top American envoy¹ will leave for Jerusalem Wednesday to talk about Iran and the ongoing² final-status negotiations³ between the Israelis and the Palestinians with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said in a statement.

　　He will then travel to Ramallah in the West Bank to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the peace process, which he said was "closer" to a peace deal than in years when he wrapped up his eighth visit to the region Friday.

　　During his trip last week, Kerry focused on Israel's security concerns. His proposals, presented to Netanyahu and Abbas Thursday, were welcomed by Israel but rejected by the Palestinians on the grounds that they would only lead to Israel's prolonged occupation of the Palestinian territories.

　　In his address to the UN General Assembly in September, U.S. President Barack Obama cited Iran's nuclear program and the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks as his two near-term goals in foreign policy.

　　The talks were resumed in late July with a view to reaching an agreement on the final-status issues -- security, border, the status of Jerusalem and refugees -- by the end of April next year. Kerry had pressed the two sides to go beyond the nine-month deadline in their talks during his last trip.

　　Kerry was forced to postpone⁴ his trip to the Philippines in October due to an approaching typhoon. His upcoming overseas trip will run through Dec. 18.

1 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。

2 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。

3 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

4 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。