VOA标准英语2008年-Sarkozy's Russia-Georgia Diplomacy Earns Mixed

The cease-fire between Georgia and Russia is being seen by some as a triumph for French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the current head of the European Union. Only one month into France's EU presidency¹, Mr. Sarkozy has shown an appetite for action, but his work has earned him mixed reviews back home. Lisa Bryant has more for VOA in Paris.

After a day of meetings between Russian and Georgian leaders, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France was able to announce success.
　
French President Nicolas Sarkozy addresses the media in Tbilisi, Georgia, 13 Aug 2008

At a joint² news conference with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili Tuesday, Mr. Sarkozy called a newly agreed ceasefire between Georgia and Russia the beginning of a process for peace. He called on both sides to respect the letter and spirit of the truce³.

Georgia has already accused Russia of violating the ceasefire, but the 27-member EU endorsed⁴ it during a foreign ministers meeting in Brussels Wednesday and agreed on the idea of sending monitors to supervise it.

Several analysts⁶ interviewed Wednesday credit the EU and Mr. Sarkozy in particular for brokering⁷ a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Georgia and Russia after several days of fighting.

But, Antonio Misseroli, director of studies at the European Policy Center in Brussels, predicts France's EU presidency, which lasts until the end of the year, will be an uneven⁸ one.

"Having France at the head of the EU is always a blessing⁹ and a curse," he said. "It is a blessing because France is a powerful member of the European Union so it has a certain authority -- both internally and externally." "That is what mattered in this particular case. France is also a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, so is seen as a more credible¹⁰ member in this game. But at the same time France is also a very assertive¹¹ member and has its own state interests to defend and put forward."

Mr. Sarkozy clashed with European Trade Commissioner¹² Peter Mandelson last month over Europe's position in World Trade Organization negotiations¹³. His proposal for a European-Mediterranean¹⁴ partnership¹⁵ was watered down because of German objections. Nonetheless, he was credited with bringing Arab and Israeli leaders together during an EU Mediterranean summit in July in which Lebanon and Syria announced full diplomatic ties.

Robin¹⁶ Shepherd, European analyst⁵ at Chatham House, a London policy institute, describes Mr. Sarkozy's tenure¹⁷ as EU president so far as a mixed bag.

"One the one hand, as far as trade negotiations, he did make it unnecessarily difficult for the EU's trade negotiator during the Doha round of talks," he said. "But on the other hand, both with the Mediterranean Union idea and right now brokering this ceasefire, it's been a rather impressive peace of work."

Mr. Sarkozy has earned similarly mixed reviews in France, where his popularity has plummetted since he took office last year. While he was credited with securing respect from both Israeli and Palestinian leaders during a visit to the Middle East this year, he has been criticized for inviting¹⁸ controversial leaders like Libya's Moammar Gadhafi and Syria's Bashar Assad to France. Mr. Sarkozy responds by arguing that diplomacy¹⁹ means speaking to a broad array of people.

The French president was similarly criticized for putting French interests above human rights ones when he decided²⁰ to attend the opening Olympic ceremony in Beijing and decided not to meet with the Dalai Lama, who is currently visiting France. Mr. Sarkozy's office says he will meet with the Tibetan spiritual leader later this year.

Both at home and abroad, Mr. Sarkozy is known as a man of action, particularly compared to his predecessor²¹, Jacques Chirac. Misseroli of the European Policy Center says that may not be so bad.

"Certainly it is a much more dynamic foreign policy than under Mr. Chirac," he said. "And of course dynamism has a price. Dynamism shakes the existing picture, antagonises some players and probably also brings others on board. That is what is happening and will continue to happen."

Mr. Sarkozy's dynamism when it comes to the current Russia-Georgia crisis may score him some points back home -- even though, as analyst Steven Ekovich points out, unlike Mr. Sarkozy, very few French are working in August.

"The French are on vacation, but this has brought the president on the front page so as they're hiking in the Alps or walking along the beach or just strolling through the countryside, when they stop by the local bookstore or newspaper shop, they're going to see their president engaged in an important fashion -- trying to solve a crisis in Europe. So it can only help," he said.

A professor at the American University of Paris, Ekovich also notes the ceasefire agreement was not entirely²² due to Mr. Sarkozy's actions.

"What's very important here is that Nicolas Sarkozy represented not only European opinion but western opinion," said Ekovich. "We shouldn't forget that Russia has become very entangled²³ in international institutions that were largely developed by the West."

As much as anything else, Ekovich says, the threat of cutting Russia out of these institutions played a key role in Moscow's decision to sign onto the truce with Georgia.

 

1 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

2 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。

3 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

4 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 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。

7 brokering   

v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的现在分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• Intertwined with these were rivalry, power brokering, and patronage. 然而也不乏有抗争、强权操纵与任命特权交织其中。 来自互联网
• Kingston Quest Can Assist Your Company In Negotiations, Brokering, Agency Services, Sourcing Factories Or Property. 金士顿追求，可帮助您的公司在谈判中，经纪，代理服务，货源工厂或财产。 来自互联网

8 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

9 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

10 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

11 assertive   

adj.果断的，自信的，有冲劲的

参考例句：

• She always speaks an assertive tone.她总是以果断的语气说话。
• China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years.在近些年，中国显示出对远方海洋的自信。

12 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

13 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。

14 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

15 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

16 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

17 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

18 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

19 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。

20 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

21 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

22 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

23 entangled   

adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bird had become entangled in the wire netting. 那只小鸟被铁丝网缠住了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》