2006年VOA标准英语-Rice Says No Time for Delay on UN Iran Sta

By David Gollust
State Department
24 March 2006

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday there should be no further delay on a U.N. Security Council statement calling on Iran to halt uranium enrichment activities. Differences among permanent council members on the wording of a statement have stalled action.

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In comments reflecting U.S. impatience¹ on the Security Council impasse², Secretary Rice says there should be no delay or stalling on a statement making clear that the council is united on having Iran live up to its international nuclear obligations.

The Secretary spoke³ at a press event here as the Security Council moved toward the end of a second week of consultations⁴ with no apparent progress on a so-called president's statement expressing concern about the Iranian nuclear program.

The United States, Britain and France have submitted a draft understood to threaten Iran with possible punishment if it does not halt uranium enrichment activity and return to negotiations⁵. But the other two permanent council members, Russia and China, are reported to favor a more conciliatory approach with no reference to punitive⁶ measures.
 

Condoleezza Rice (r) with Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis  
  
In comments at a joint⁷ news conference with Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, Secretary Rice said the presidential statement was part of an understanding the five permanent council members reached at a London meeting at the end of January.

She said there is no time for delay in showing that the world community is united in demanding that Iran fulfill⁸ its Non-Proliferation Treaty obligations in order to allay⁹ concerns about its nuclear intentions:

"There is an erosion of confidence in Iran on this point because they lied to the IAEA for 18 years," said Condoleezza Rice. "If they do want a civil nuclear program, that's fine, they can have one, but not with enrichment and reprocessing on Iranian territory. They need to suspend the activity in which they are engaged and returns o negotiations. There shouldn't be any delay, there can't be any stalling. The international community has got to act."

The United States has long held that Iran's nominally¹⁰ peaceful nuclear program conceals¹¹ a covert¹² weapons effort. Rice said the United States remains¹³ committed to a diplomatic solution to the issue but that the Security Council needs to act to show that this is possible.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday his government opposes the Western draft because it removes the issue from the purview¹⁴ of the International Atomic Energy Agency and effectively lays groundwork for sanctions against Iran.

Officials here said Rice had discussed the issue several times in the last few days with British Foreign Secretary Jack¹⁵ Straw and intended to call Lavrov as well.

The Iran nuclear issue figured in the Secretary's meeting with the Greek foreign minister that was otherwise dominated by southern European and Balkans issues including efforts to reach an agreement on the political future of Kosovo.

Bakoyannis, who became foreign minister last month after having been mayor of Athens, said she reaffirmed Greece's commitment to seeking a united bi-communal Cyprus based on relevant U.N. resolutions and the Cyprus peace plan of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Cyprus peace efforts have been stalled since early 2004 when Greek Cypriots rejected the Annan plan in a referendum, while Turkish Cypriots supported it.

Bakoyannis said Greece joins the United States in supporting Turkey's European Union aspirations¹⁶. But she said Turkey's European future rests in its own hands, and its willingness to apply European norms and practices both inside Turkey and in its relations with neighbors, especially Greece and Cyprus.

1 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

2 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

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 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

9 allay   

v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等)

参考例句：

• The police tried to allay her fears but failed.警察力图减轻她的恐惧，但是没有收到什么效果。
• They are trying to allay public fears about the spread of the disease.他们正竭力减轻公众对这种疾病传播的恐惧。

10 nominally   

在名义上，表面地； 应名儿

参考例句：

• Dad, nominally a Methodist, entered Churches only for weddings and funerals. 爸名义上是卫理公会教徒，可只去教堂参加婚礼和葬礼。
• The company could not indicate a person even nominally responsible for staff training. 该公司甚至不能指出一个名义上负责职员培训的人。

11 conceals   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He conceals his worries behind a mask of nonchalance. 他装作若无其事，借以掩饰内心的不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Drunkenness reveals what soberness conceals. 酒醉吐真言。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 purview   

n.范围；眼界

参考例句：

• These are questions that lie outside the purview of our inquiry.这些都不是属于我们调查范围的问题。
• That,however,was beyond the purview of the court;it was a diplomatic matter.但是，那已不在法庭权限之内；那是个外交问题。

15 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

16 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。