2007年VOA标准英语-Pipeline Through Belarus is Up and Pumping Agai

By Anya Ardayeva
Moscow
16 January 2007
 
watch Pipeline¹ report

Belarus/Russia pipeline

Russia has resumed pumping crude oil to Western Europe through Belarus, after shutting down a pipeline for three days amid charges that authorities in Minsk were illegally siphoning off Russian oil.  The energy dispute between Russia and Belarus aroused widespread concern throughout Europe. 
Leaders of the European Union, including German Chancellor² Angela Merkel, were unhappy about a lack of consultations³ between Moscow and its European customers.  Some observers in Moscow believe the disagreement with Minsk is more complex, with both financial and political aspects to the Kremlin's pressure campaign against Belarus. 

 

Experts including Evgeni Volk, head of the Moscow office of the Heritage Foundation say one of the main reasons for the energy dispute was the Kremlin's desire to weaken the position of the Belorussian leader Alexander Lukashenko. "I think that people in the Kremlin realized that Lukashenko is not acceptable either in a political or economic sense and that the question of creating a joint⁴ state is no longer there. And now, the aim is to, essentially⁵, politically choke Lukashenko using economic methods."

Analysts⁷ say increased gas prices for Belorussian consumers could severely⁸ hamper⁹ the country's economy and perhaps even more importantly, slow social programs -- a combination of effects which could eventually damage Alexander Lukashenko's popularity at home.

Kremlin-connected political analyst⁶ Sergei Makrov says Moscow is still interested in further integration¹⁰ between the two countries. "The Kremlin would be happy to see Lukashenko go, but that's not on today's agenda.

The Kremlin is either trying to make Lukashenko move forward towards the creation of a joint state, because the people of Russia and Belarus want that, or, if he's not ready to do that, to pay his bills in full." 

Seven years after its creation, the plans to unify¹¹ Russia and Belarus have made little progress.  There is no joint Constitution; they have separate currencies, passports, state institutions and symbols.  Probably the only achievement so far is the joint anti-missile defense¹² system, as well as visa-free travel between the two countries.

Kremlin officials insist that Belorussian president is to blame for the stalling of further integration between Russia and Belarus.  Alexander Lukashenko repeatedly said that he will not give up his country's sovereignty.  Besides, Lukashenko is often referred to as the "last dictator in Europe," and according to Evgeni Volk, his reputation casts a dark shadow on Russia. "At the moment, Moscow can't really say it has many achievements in the sphere of human rights and freedoms, neither in a political nor economic sense.  And here is Lukashenko, who constantly associates himself with Russia.  So it makes Russia look like it is supporting him, helping¹³ him and providing stability for his regime.  And that, with the background of all other problems that exist between Russia and the West, serves as an additional irritant in relations."

The interruption of oil supplies to European consumers -- even for just three days -- seems to have damaged Russia's image.  European Union leaders expressed their dismay over lack of communication between Moscow and its European partners, and European press is widely discussing how to free Europe from excessive dependency on Russian energy supplies. 

Nevertheless, according to Sergei Markov, the Kremlin is convinced that Russia's reputation will not suffer long-term damage. "All this talk about Russia being an unreliable supplier [is] taken as part of a specially¹⁴ organized public relations campaign in the Kremlin, because all those media who are now screaming about Russia being unreliable, [as recently as five or six years ago] were calling for Russia to raise oil and gas prices for Belarus, and stop subsidizing its economy."

The dispute between Moscow and Minsk again showed that Alexander Lukashenko does not have many supporters in Europe -- and that Russia is virtually the only country which still has strong economic and political ties with Belarus.  That means the Belorussian president will have to continue playing by rules set in the Kremlin.

The dispute came to a head when Russia forced Belarus to sign a new energy agreement that more than doubled the price of Russian natural gas in Belarus.  This followed a significant cooling of relations between the two former Soviet¹⁵ republics.  Russia and Belarus signed an agreement in 1999 that was intended to unite their monetary¹⁶, economic and legal systems.  Little was accomplished¹⁷, however, and the seventh anniversary of the Russian-Belarus union treaty (on December 15th) came and went almost unnoticed.

1 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

2 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

3 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》

4 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。

5 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

6 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。

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

8 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

9 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

10 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

11 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

12 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

13 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。

14 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

15 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

16 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

17 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。