VOA常速英语2008年-Serbia's Neighbors Recognize Kosovo

By Stefan Bos
Budapest
19 March 2008

Serbia's neighbors Hungary, Bulgaria and Croatia have recognized Kosovo's independence. Stefan Bos reports for VOA from Budapest that their joint¹ statement has led to tensions with Belgrade and concerns among ethnic² minorities living in Serbia.

In a joint statement issued simultaneously³ in their three capitals, the governments of Hungary, Bulgaria and Croatia made clear they saw no other option than to recognize Kosovo as an independent state.
 
They said their decision followed the international community's failure to find a negotiated solution between Belgrade and Pristina on the status of Kosovo.
 
The three states stressed they want to maintain good relations with Serbia and help it to eventually join the European Union. The EU has already offered Serbia a cooperation agreement, which has yet to be signed.
 
Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic warned Wednesday that countries recognizing what he called " the illegally declared state of Kosovo" cannot count on good relations with Serbia.
 
That worries officials of Serbia's Hungarian minority of some 300,000 people. They fear Hungary's recognition of Kosovo will provoke attacks against ethnic Hungarians, who mainly live in the Serbian province of Vojvodina.
 
Speaking in Budapest Wednesday, Hungarian State Secretary of Foreign Affairs Maria Fekszi Horvath urged Belgrade to protect the Hungarian community. 

"The Serbian government has an interest in sparing ethnic Hungarians of Vojvodina from atrocities⁴ in the wake of Kosovo's recognition," she said.  "Both Hungary and Serbia should pay special attention to minorities living on their territory."

Hungary, Bulgaria and Croatia have also urged the authorities of predominantly ethnic Albanian Kosovo to respect the rights of minorities, including Serbs.
 
Tensions remain high in the province after violent clashes this week between Serbs opposing Kosovo's independence and NATO and U.N. security forces.  A Ukrainian police officer was killed in the violence and about 150 people were injured.
 
Analysts have warned that Kosovo may split in two between Albanian and Serb areas, something 16,000 NATO-led peacekeepers are trying to avoid.

1 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。

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 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

4 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》