2007年VOA标准英语-Rice Dismisses Russian Concerns About US Missil

By David Gollust
State Department
26 April 2007

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Thursday dismissed as "ludicrous" Russian concerns that a U.S. missile defense¹ plan for Europe would threaten Moscow's nuclear deterrent². Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russia may pull out of a central European arms control treaty over the issue. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

NATO foreign ministers informal meeting in Oslo opens, 26 Apr 2007

The Bush administration has worked hard to try to allay³ Russian concerns about the missile defense plan, but Moscow continues to object and is now threatening to suspend its role in the 1990 treaty limiting conventional forces in Europe.

The United States is negotiating with Poland and the Czech Republic on a plan that would place 10 U.S. missile interceptors in Poland and a related radar⁴ system on Czech territory.

The Bush administration says the antimissile system, to be operational in about five years, is aimed against single missiles or small salvoes of rockets that might be fired at Europe and the United States by Iran or some other rogue⁵ state.

Russia contends the system could counter its strategic missile force and fuel a new arms race.

U.S. officials say the limited defense system could in no way affect Russia's deterrent capability⁶. Speaking at a NATO meeting in Oslo, Secretary Rice appeared exasperated⁷ over the Russian position.

"Let's be real about this," she said. "The idea that somehow 10 interceptors and a few radars⁸ in eastern Europe are going to threaten the Soviet⁹ [Russian] strategic deterrent is purely¹⁰ ludicrous and everybody knows it. The Russians have thousands of warheads. The idea that you can somehow stop the Russian strategic nuclear deterrent with a few missile interceptors just doesn't make sense."

Rice said the Bush administration is willing to spend as much time as needed to, as she put it, "demystify" the plan for Russian authorities. But she said this has to be done on a realistic basis, not one that is grounded in the 1980s.

In Moscow, Russian President Valdimir Putin, in his final state of the nation address, accused the United States of seeking one-sided advantages in weaponry and expanding military bases near Russia's borders.

Mr. Putin said it would be "appropriate" under the circumstances to declare a moratorium¹¹ on Russian adherence¹² to the 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, or CFE.

That agreement, reached between NATO and the former Warsaw Pact¹³ at the end of the Cold War and amended¹⁴ in 1992, set strict limits on tanks, artillery¹⁵ and other weapons in central Europe.

The United States and NATO allies observe the limits through they have refused to formally ratify¹⁶ it until Russia removes remaining troops from Georgia and Moldova.

Tom Casey

In a talk with reporters here, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said no formal notice of Russian withdrawal¹⁷ from the CFE has been received and he stressed the U.S. view that that treaty has continued value for European stability:

"These are agreements that have been reached broadly, internationally. The treaty, I think, is something that's beneficial for all parties involved. Certainly we want to see everyone honor their obligations under it. Certainly, we feel the United States has met our obligations under that," he said.

Rice had a private talk on the sidelines of the NATO meeting in Oslo with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was there to take part in a regular session of the NATO-Russia Council.

The Bush administration sent Defense Secretary Robert Gates to Moscow earlier this week to discuss the missile defense dispute and related issues.

Gates offered Russia information-sharing on missile defense including combining the two countries' defensive¹⁸ radar systems, though his new Russian counterpart, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, said Russia still considers the U.S. plan destabilizing.

1 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。

2 deterrent   

n.阻碍物，制止物；adj.威慑的，遏制的

参考例句：

• Large fines act as a deterrent to motorists.高额罚款是对开车的人的制约。
• I put a net over my strawberries as a deterrent to the birds.我在草莓上罩了网，免得鸟歇上去。

3 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。

4 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

5 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

6 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

7 exasperated   

adj.恼怒的

参考例句：

• We were exasperated at his ill behaviour. 我们对他的恶劣行为感到非常恼怒。
• Constant interruption of his work exasperated him. 对他工作不断的干扰使他恼怒。

8 radars   

n.雷达( radar的名词复数 )；雷达装置

参考例句：

• Servos for large radars and launchers are either electro-hydraulic or all-electric. 大型雷达和发射装置的伺服系统，不是电动-液压式的，就是全电动式的。 来自辞典例句
• Range-velocity simultaneous pull-off is one of effective measures for countering PD radars. 距离-速度同步拖引干扰是对抗PD雷达的有效方法。 来自互联网

9 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。

10 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

11 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。

12 adherence   

n.信奉，依附，坚持，固着

参考例句：

• He was well known for his adherence to the rules.他因遵循这些规定而出名。
• The teacher demanded adherence to the rules.老师要求学生们遵守纪律。

13 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

14 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

15 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

16 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

17 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

18 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。