2006年VOA标准英语-Russian, Iranian Officials Say Nuclear Tal

By Lisa McAdams
Moscow
21 February 2006

Russian and Iranian officials are discounting reports of failure after two days of talks in Moscow ended without Iran accepting a Russian compromise proposal. The plan, supported by the West, is seen as a last chance to keep Iran from being referred to the U.N. Security Council for possible punitive¹ sanctions over its nuclear program.

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After only one hour in session, Russian television broadcast images of the Iranian delegation²'s motorcade leaving the compound where the latest round of closed-door talks were taking place. Monday's opening round lasted more than five hours, but also ended without word of progress. 

 

Sergey Lavrov  
  

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quick to echo Iranian officials in the view that the talks were not a failure as he says further discussions are planned.

But neither Lavrov, nor the Iranians, have offered a specific timeframe.

Alexander Pikayev is the Director of Disarmament and Conflict Resolution at Moscow's Institute for World Economic and International Relations. He told VOA he saw no reason to hesitate in labeling the talks a failure.

"Yesterday, there were some expectations that today probably the sides would be able to reach some sort of agreement," he said. "However, the early departure of the Iranian delegation demonstrates that negotiations³ were not completed successfully."

The Iranian delegation is to return to Tehran and is expected to meet with the head of Russia's atomic energy agency -Rosatom - Sergei Kiriyenko, beginning this Thursday.

Kiriyenko is going to Tehran, in part, to inspect the Bushehr nuclear reactor⁴ Russia is helping⁵ Iran to build. But some experts suggest that the talks on the compromise proposal could continue on the sidelines of his visit.

There has been no official confirmation⁶ of such a plan. And analyst⁷ Pikayev says he is skeptical⁸ that there is much more Russia can do to maneuver⁹ a deal with the Iranians, in order to stave off threatened UN Security Council action.

"I am not sure that I am (an) optimist¹⁰ because I think the probability of referral to the U.N. Security Council is very high," he said.

But Pikayev acknowledges that both sides have until March 6th before the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna meets to determine whether to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council in New York for possible punitive sanctions over its nuclear program.

Iranian officials took a tough stance going into this week's talks in Moscow, saying Iran would not give up its right to develop civilian¹¹ nuclear energy. But Europe and the United States suspect Tehran of trying to develop nuclear weapons and want to see Iran resume its moratorium¹² on uranium enrichment.

The Russian plan under discussion aims to ease western concerns by enriching Iran's sensitive uranium on Russian soil to ensure that it is not diverted for weapons development.

1 punitive   

adj.惩罚的，刑罚的

参考例句：

• They took punitive measures against the whole gang.他们对整帮人采取惩罚性措施。
• The punitive tariff was imposed to discourage tire imports from China.该惩罚性关税的征收是用以限制中国轮胎进口的措施。

2 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

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 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

7 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

8 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

9 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

10 optimist   

n.乐观的人，乐观主义者

参考例句：

• We are optimist and realist.我们是乐观主义者，又是现实主义者。
• Peter,ever the optimist,said things were bound to improve.一向乐观的皮特说，事情必定是会好转的。

11 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。

12 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。