2006年VOA标准英语-Kosovo Status Talks Aim To Conclude Decent

By Barry Wood
Washington
24 March 2006

The diplomat¹ chairing talks in Vienna on the future status of Kosovo says the talks between authorities in Pristina and Belgrade are progressing and could wrap up discussions on local government at the next meeting April 3. VOA's Barry Wood spoke² Thursday with the head of the talks, Austrian diplomat Albert Rohan.

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Though Kosovo officially remains³ part of Serbia, it has been under U.N. administration since 1999, when NATO airstrikes drove out Serbian forces after violence against ethnic⁴ Albanians. The talks now taking place are to determine who will govern Kosovo once NATO forces leave.

The diplomat in charge, Albert Rohan, says the first two rounds of talks between representatives from Kosovo and Belgrade, which took place between February 20 and March 17, dealt with decentralization and cooperation between municipalities in the province. The vast majority of Kosovo's two million citizens are ethnic Albanians, with a Serbian minority of 10 percent. There were also discussions about how Belgrade would provide financial assistance to minority Serb communities in Kosovo. Mr. Rohan says while there was little disagreement on some issues, there were differences. He says United Nations negotiators have prepared a comprehensive paper on decentralization, and he will deliver those suggestions to the negotiating parties.

"I shall myself go to Pristina on Tuesday (March 28) to explain this paper. And on the third of April we'll meet, the delegations⁵ will meet, and we will go through all those concrete matters where there is no agreement yet," he said.

Under the UN plan, technical matters are being discussed first, ahead of the far more vexing⁶ political issue of final status of the province. Mr. Rohan says after talks on local self-government, the negotiators will turn to discussions of protection of religious sites. "Here, it is somewhat more complicated. There is the Pristina government on the one side. There is Belgrade on the other. And there is, of course, the Serb Orthodox Church itself, whose position must be taken into account. Therefore the preparation needs a little bit more time," he said.

Some of the holiest shrines⁷ of Orthodox Christianity are in Kosovo. Two monasteries⁸, Decani and Gracanica, are 700 years old and regarded as among Europe's most significant architectural and cultural treasures. After protection of cultural sites, the talks will then turn to economic matters.

Following the April third talks between delegates representing Pristina and Belgrade, Mr. Rohan says the six nations that guide the deliberations on Kosovo, the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Russia, will meet at high level in Athens, Greece on April 5 to discuss what progress is being made.

1 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

2 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。

3 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。

4 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

5 delegations   

n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派

参考例句：

• In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

6 vexing   

adj.使人烦恼的，使人恼火的v.使烦恼( vex的现在分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论

参考例句：

• It is vexing to have to wait a long time for him. 长时间地等他真使人厌烦。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Lately a vexing problem had grown infuriatingly worse. 最近发生了一个讨厌的问题，而且严重到令人发指的地步。 来自辞典例句

7 shrines   

圣地，圣坛，神圣场所( shrine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All three structures dated to the third century and were tentatively identified as shrines. 这3座建筑都建于3 世纪，并且初步鉴定为神庙。
• Their palaces and their shrines are tombs. 它们的宫殿和神殿成了墓穴。

8 monasteries   

修道院( monastery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In ancient China, there were lots of monasteries. 在古时候，中国有许多寺院。
• The Negev became a religious center with many monasteries and churches. 内格夫成为许多庙宇和教堂的宗教中心。