VOA标准英语2008年-Bush Repeats Call for Russian Troop Withdrawal

U.S. President George Bush says America stands with the democratically-elected government in Georgia in the face of what he calls Russian bullying¹ and intimidation². VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, Mr. Bush again called on Russia to withdraw its troops.

Since the end of the Cold War, President Bush says Russia has tended to view the expansion of freedom and democracy as a threat to its interests.
　
President George W. Bush makes statement about Georgia-Russia conflict outside Oval Office at White House, 15 Aug 2008

Mr. Bush told reporters at the White House that the days of satellite states and spheres of influence are over, and Russia's attacks in Georgia have damaged its credibility.

"Bullying and intimidation are not acceptable ways to conduct foreign policy in the 21st century," the president said. "Only Russia can decide whether it will now put itself back on the path of responsible nations, or continue to pursue a policy that promises only confrontation³ and isolation⁴."

Mr. Bush says he hopes Russia's leaders recognize that a future of cooperation and peace benefits all parties and he says a contentious⁵ relationship between Russia and America is in neither nation's interest.

Russian forces continue to control the Georgia city of Gori with tanks and military vehicles blocking access to Georgian authorities who have tried to re-enter the abandoned city. Russian officials told reporters they are busy providing humanitarian⁶ assistance.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili told CNN Thursday that Russian troops occupy one-third of his country.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in the Georgian capital for talks with President Saakashvili in hopes of reaching agreement on a cease-fire that ensures the withdrawal⁷ of Russian troops from areas outside the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

President Bush will meet with Rice at his Texas ranch⁸ Friday evening for a briefing on her trip, which also included talks in France with President Nicholas Sarkozy. Mr. Bush says Rice, in Tbilisi, expressed America's wholehearted support for Georgia's democracy.

"The United States and our allies stand with the people of Georgia and their democratically-elected government," Mr. Bush said. "Georgia's sovereignty and territorial⁹ integrity must be respected. Moscow must honor its commitment to withdraw its invading forces from all Georgian territory."
　
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (file photo)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the world can forget about Georgia's territorial integrity, as President Dmitri Medvedev Thursday met with leaders of the breakaway republics.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino dismissed the Russian Foreign Minister's statement as "bluster¹⁰" that Washington will ignore.

President Bush says some Americans may wonder why events in a small country halfway¹¹ around the world matter to the United States. He says Georgia has become a courageous¹² democracy since the fall of the Soviet¹³ Union, holding free elections and opening up its economy.

"Georgia has sent troops to Afghanistan and Iraq to help others achieve the liberty that they struggled so hard to attain," he said. "To further strengthen its democracy, Georgia has sought to join the free institutions of the West. The people of Georgia have cast their lot with the free world, and we will not cast them aside."

President Bush has ordered the U.S. military to begin a humanitarian relief mission in Georgia and he expects Russia to honor its commitment to ensure that all lines of communication and transport, including seaports¹⁴, airports, roads and airspace remain open for the delivery of assistance and for civilian¹⁵ transit¹⁶.

 

1 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

3 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

4 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

5 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

6 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

7 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。

8 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

9 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

10 bluster   

v.猛刮；怒冲冲的说；n.吓唬，怒号；狂风声

参考例句：

• We could hear the bluster of the wind and rain.我们能听到狂风暴雨的吹打声。
• He was inclined to bluster at first,but he soon dropped.起初他老爱吵闹一阵，可是不久就不做声了。

11 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

12 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

13 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。

14 seaports   

n.海港( seaport的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Airports have joined seaports as ports of entry for the visiting foreigner. 机场和海港一样成为来访的外国人的入境关口。 来自互联网
• Sanya has 16 seaports, 10 islands and 180km of coastline. 三亚有16个港口、10个海岛和180公里的海岸线。 来自互联网

15 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

16 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。