2006年VOA标准英语-Bush, Other G8 Leaders, Prepare to Open Summit

By Scott Stearns
St. Petersburg
15 July 2006

President Bush is in Russia for the start of the annual meeting of the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shares a word with U.S. President George W. Bush at Petrodvorets, a royal palace founded by Peter the Great near St. Petersburg  
  
The president and Mrs. Bush joined other guests at a social dinner hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wife Ludmilla at the Peterhof Palace, the opulent summer home of Peter the Great.

It ended a busy day of diplomacy¹ for Mr. Bush, who met privately² with President Putin and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi. On the agenda: escalating³ violence in the Middle East and a push for sanctions against Iran and North Korea over their nuclear programs.

Those issues are sure to dominate the president's meetings Sunday with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac ahead of the formal start of the G8 summit.

This is the first time Russia is hosting the annual meeting of leading industrialized nations, and President Putin had hoped to focus on energy security, fighting infectious disease and education.

But Israeli attacks in Lebanon in response to the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers are likely to disrupt that agenda and change the nature of the summit's final communiqué.

Following their meeting Saturday, President Bush repeated his support for Israel's right to defend itself. President Putin questioned whether Israeli bombing of Beirut's airport and the road to Syria was a proportional response to the kidnappings and rocket attacks in northern Israel.

1 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

2 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

3 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句