VOA标准英语2008年-Russia Reacts Mildly to EU Condemnation

Russia has offered a muted response to Monday's European Union special summit meeting on Georgia, saying the majority of European countries confirmed the path toward partnership¹ with Russia. During its one day emergency summit, the European Union strongly condemned² Russian action in Georgia and agreed to suspend talks with Moscow on a wide-ranging partnership agreement until Russian troops withdraw. VOA Correspondent Peter Fedynsky has this report from the Russian capital.
　
EU leaders at news conference in Brussels, 01 Sep 2008

A statement released on the Russian Foreign Ministry³ website says a minority of EU countries called for a freeze in relations and condemned Russian foreign policy. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Andrei Nesterenko later read the entire statement at a Moscow news conference.

But the Ministry's main point, as read by Nesterenko, is that the EU majority demonstrated a responsible approach by confirming its path towards partnership with Russia, fully⁴ realizing the meaning of mutually beneficial cooperation.

Independent political analyst⁵ Nikolai Petrov at the Moscow Carnegie Center told VOA the Georgian conflict has shifted from fighting to a battle over interpretation⁶, which he says is often contradictory⁷. He points to European Union condemnation⁸ of Russian aggression⁹ and Moscow's relatively¹⁰ mild reaction.

Petrov says the tone set by the Russian Foreign Ministry and repeated by most Russian publications, with the exception of the Kommersant business daily, is completely positive. The analyst says Moscow thinks the summit made a mountain out of a molehill because the Europeans in general adopted no bad decisions for Russia.

Kommersant, which has a circulation of nearly 177,000, wrote that the EU decision was exceptionally tough on the country. The newspaper notes European leaders not only called on other nations not to follow Russia's lead in recognizing Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but also to freeze talks on a new EU partnership agreement with Russia until it withdraws its forces from Georgian territory. If the withdrawal¹¹ does not occur by the next EU-Russia summit on November 14, Europe has threatened to reassess its relations with Moscow.

The Russian Foreign Ministry says the country is strictly¹² observing an agreement to regulate the Georgian conflict reached on August 12 by Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy. That agreement says Russia must withdraw its forces to pre-conflict positions.

But Russian troops remain in a buffer¹³ zone in Georgian territory around South Ossetia. Moscow refers to the zone as an area of its peacekeeping responsibilities.

Analyst Nikolai Petrov says Russian troop positions can be easily verified, adding that Russia is engaged in a form of propaganda over the issue.

Petrov says Moscow is playing a game that may influence a domestic public opinion, but in no way improves Russia's position with European countries.

French President Sarkozy is expected to visit Moscow on September 8 for a detailed¹⁴ review of ways to implement¹⁵ the Georgian peace plan that he and President Medvedev agreed to last month.

 

1 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。

2 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 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。

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 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

7 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

8 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

9 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。

10 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

11 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。

12 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

13 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。

14 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

15 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。