VOA标准英语2008年-Georgia Crisis Hurts Russian Relations with Wes

Two days after Russia and Georgia agreed to a cease-fire, the truce¹ has yet to be fully² implemented³ and Russian forces have yet to leave Georgian territory. Added to that has been a raging war of words and thinly veiled threats. In this report from London, VOA's Sonja Pace looks at the potential long-term implications for Russia's relations with the West.

When U.S. President George Bush threw America's full support behind Georgia on Wednesday, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was dismissive and is reported to have said that Washington needs to choose between its "virtual project" in Georgia and real partnership⁴, referring to Russia.
　
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband (file photo)

Russia's actions in Georgia have raised concern throughout Europe and have drawn⁵ warnings from London. Speaking on British radio, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Russia's actions amounted to blatant⁶ aggression⁷.

"The sight of Russian tanks rolling into parts of a sovereign country on its neighboring border will have brought a chill down the spine⁸ of many people - rightly, because that is a reversion to - it's not just Cold War politics, it's 19th Century ways of doing politics," he said.

Miliband said there was never a doubt that Russia could easily defeat the small Georgian army. But, he warned Russia needs to let go of the old Soviet⁹ ways.

"The Soviet Union doesn't exist anymore. There is no such thing as ex-Soviet space," he said. "There is a new map of eastern Europe and the border area of Russia and I believe it's actually in Russia's interest to come to terms with that. It's not in Russia's interest to continue to hanker for a Soviet past because frankly¹⁰, it's gone and it's good that it's gone."

And, the British foreign secretary said, Russia should think about the longer-term implications for its relations with the West.
　
Russian tanks on the outskirts¹¹ of Gori, northwest of capital Tbilisi, Georgia, 14 Aug 2008

Russia's overwhelming response in Georgia and the breakaway enclave of South Ossetia is widely seen as symptomatic of Russian grievances¹² over western actions. These include the expansion eastward¹³ of NATO and the European Union into what was once the Soviet sphere of influence, American plans for a missile defense¹⁴ system in eastern Europe and western support for the independence of Kosovo from Russian ally Serbia.

Georgia wants to join both the EU and NATO and some argue that had Georgia been accepted into NATO, this conflict would not have occurred. Former British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind rejects that notion.

"The United States, Britain, France, Germany are not going to go to war with Russia over South Ossetia, no matter how sympathetic we might be to the people of Georgia. We're sympathetic to Tibet, we're sympathetic to Zimbabwe. We don't contemplate¹⁶ military solutions to these problems and so NATO membership is not the answer," said Rifkind.

The Georgian conflict has shown a resurgent Russia ready to use harsh power politics to advance its aims says international security analyst¹⁷ Michael Denison of London's Chatham House research center. And, he says there is no unified¹⁸ vision of what do about it, especially given western Europe's dependence¹⁵ on Russian oil and gas.

"You look at the U.K. and the U.S., not directly dependent on Russian energy - willing and able to take a sharper line with Russia. And, if you look at the east of Europe, they also are fearful of Russia and want to take a sharper line," he said. "The crucial issue is what about the central belt of core European states - Germany, Italy, France, all of whom have look to cut bilateral¹⁹ deals, looked to accommodate Russia - how will they react."

Denison says the question is whether Europe will be able to forge a unified, combined response to Russia and a common energy security plan to get out from under its dependence on Russian energy.

"The chances are pretty slim of that in the short to medium term," he said.

So, the West's leverage²⁰ is limited. But many say what is likely to be the first fallout from the Georgian crisis will be a definite cooling of relations with Russia - maybe not to old Cold War levels, but a cooling all the same.

 

1 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。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 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

4 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。

5 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

6 blatant   

adj.厚颜无耻的；显眼的；炫耀的

参考例句：

• I cannot believe that so blatant a comedy can hoodwink anybody.我无法相信这么显眼的一出喜剧能够欺骗谁。
• His treatment of his secretary was a blatant example of managerial arrogance.他管理的傲慢作风在他对待秘书的态度上表露无遗。

7 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

8 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

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 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

11 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

12 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

14 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。

15 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

16 contemplate   

vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视

参考例句：

• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
• The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。

17 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。

18 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

19 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

20 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。