2006年VOA标准英语-Bush: No Direct Talks with Iran

By Scott Stearns
White House
20 December 2006

U.S. President George Bush says there will be no direct talks with Iran until it stops enriching uranium.  VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, a bipartisan panel studying U.S. policy in Iraq has urged the president to include Tehran in discussions about finding a new way forward in Iraq.

 
George Bush at White House, 20 Dec 2006 
President Bush says he has made it perfectly¹ clear to Iran that there will be no direct talks until it stops enriching uranium.

"If they want to sit down with us for the good of the Iranian people, they ought to verifiably suspend their program," he said.  "We have made that clear to them.  It is obvious to them how to move forward."

President Bush and many of his European allies believe Iran is secretly developing a nuclear weapons program.  Iran says it is enriching uranium solely² for the peaceful civilian³ purpose of generating electricity.

Mr. Bush was asked about Iran at a White House news conference, following recommendations by a bipartisan Iraq Study Group that Washington have more direct talks with Tehran and Damascus about improving security in neighboring Iraq.

The president says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is working hard to get another U.N. resolution against Iran's nuclear program.

 
Sergei Lavrov 
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow does not agree with sanctions in a draft resolution that includes travel restrictions⁴ on officials linked to Iran's nuclear and missile programs.

Russia and China have both opposed sanctions against Iran, following its failure to abide⁵ by an August 31 deadline to stop enriching uranium.

President Bush criticized Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for being "out of step" with the majority of thinkers.  Mr. Bush says he was amazed by Iran's recent conference questioning the Holocaust⁶ and called it a backward view of the history of the world.

"My message to the Iranian people is: 'You can do better than to have somebody try to rewrite history," he said. "You can do better than somebody who has not strengthened your economy.  And you can do better than having somebody who is trying to develop a nuclear weapon that the world believes you should not have.'  There is a better way forward."

President Bush says there have been conversations with Damascus about improving security in Iraq, and said if Syria wants better relations it needs to take positive steps to promote peace, rather than instability.

"We have suggested to them that they no longer allow Saddamists to send money and arms across their border into Iraq to fuel some of the violence that we see," he said.  "They have got to leave a democratic Lebanon alone."

 
Fuad Siniora 
Mr. Bush says he is proud of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora who he says has showed tenacity⁷ and toughness in the face of enormous pressure from Syria and from the Shi'ite militant⁸ group Hezbollah, which is funded by Syria and Iran.

Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition⁹ is calling for new elections.  Arab League chief Amr Moussa is in the country for meetings with Prime Minister Siniora and Hezbollah allies in a bid to resolve the political crisis.

1 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

2 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

3 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

6 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

7 tenacity   

n.坚韧

参考例句：

• Tenacity is the bridge to success.坚韧是通向成功的桥。
• The athletes displayed great tenacity throughout the contest.运动员在比赛中表现出坚韧的斗志。

8 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

9 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。