2007年VOA标准英语-Kosovo Says it Will Not Unilaterally Declare In

By Barry Wood
Washington
23 July 2007

Condoleezza Rice (file photo)

Kosovo officials meeting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Monday said they will not declare independence for four months while negotiations¹ about the province's status are under way. VOA's Barry Wood reports.

U.S. officials say Kosovo's leaders have agreed to wait 120 days before declaring independence. Last week Kosovo's Prime Minister Agim Ceku said absent a Security Council resolution recommending independence, Kosovo would declare independence in late November.

The secessionist Serbian province whose population is 90 percent ethnic² Albanian has been administered by the United Nations since 1999 when NATO bombing drove Serb forces out of Kosovo.

It is Russia that has called for a new round of status talks after rejecting the proposal for conditional³ independence recently put forward by special U.N. envoy⁴ Martti Ahtisaari. Russia's threat to use its veto in the Security Council forced western nations to withdraw proposed resolutions that would have implemented⁵ the Ahtisaari plan. Moscow says U.N. endorsement⁷ of Kosovo's secession would encourage breakaway regions elsewhere.

The new round of talks will be led by a six-nation contact group that includes Russia, the United States and four west European countries. High-level contact group officials meet later this week in Europe to prepare for a round of shuttle diplomacy⁸ between Pristina and Belgrade.

U.S. officials say that after the further 120 days of talks there will be no further delay. Both the United States and France say Kosovo's independence is inevitable⁹. Prime Minister Ceku told VOA that after the 120 days there will be a coordinated¹⁰ proclamation of independence involving Kosovo, the European Union and the United States.

"Today we got a powerful guarantee that after this period the status will be solved and the solution will be the independence of Kosovo," he said.

U.S. officials say Kosovar leaders will use the next four months to obtain parliamentary approval for a new constitution, a law on elections, a new flag and national symbols, and guarantees for the Serb minority.

European Union foreign ministers also discussed Kosovo Monday in Brussels. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, with long experience in the Balkans, said keeping the 27 nation EU united on Kosovo is essential. Greece, Spain, Cyprus and Slovakia are reluctant to endorse⁶ Kosovo's independence.

Under the Ahtisaari plan, the EU will take over from the U.N. many administrative¹¹ responsibilities in Kosovo.  U.S. officials say they are optimistic that the EU and U.S. will find consensus¹² on Kosovo, but they are less optimistic that Moscow can be convinced to go along.

1 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。

2 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。

3 conditional   

adj.条件的，带有条件的

参考例句：

• My agreement is conditional on your help.你肯帮助我才同意。
• There are two forms of most-favored-nation treatment:conditional and unconditional.最惠国待遇有两种形式:有条件的和无条件的。

4 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

5 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

6 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

7 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

8 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。

9 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

10 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

11 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

12 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？