VOA标准英语2010-Turkish Foreign Minister Tries to Defuse

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, right, and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu, shake hands at the end of their press conference in Tehran, Iran, 20 Apr 2010

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu underlined his country's opposition¹ to growing calls for tougher sanctions against Iran, during a visit to Tehran.  There is a growing division between Turkey and its Western allies over Iran.

 

Tehran is just the latest leg in Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's ongoing² diplomatic efforts to defuse rising tensions over Iran's nuclear energy program.  Much of the international community suspects that program of being used to build a nuclear bomb, a charge denied by Tehran. 

After meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Davutoglu stressed again his country's support of Iran.

He said Turkey is continuing to work to stop unwanted developments that could hurt Iran, Turkey, and the entire region.  He said Turkey will try its best to see what it can do for the "nuclear fuel swap³" proposal.

The nuclear swap is a proposal to Tehran that includes reprocessing Iran's nuclear material, making it unusable for weapons.  While not outright⁴ rejecting it, the Iranian government has refused to accept the offer. 

Despite growing pressure for new tougher sanctions against Tehran, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is resolute⁵ in opposing them, saying they are unnecessary and they do not work.  A stance he reiterated⁶ while attending a nuclear summit last week in Washington. 

During the visit, Mr. Erdogan said he is not alone.

He says there may be other countries that may share our thoughts.  He said our whole efforts are to move this process democratically and solve this problem diplomatically.

Mr. Erdogan is referring to Brazil, which like Turkey is a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.  Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoglu visited Brazil last week to discuss the country's stance towards Iran.

Observers say Brazil, with its substantial Iranian trade ties, especially in mining and energy, also has reservations over new sanctions.  Brazil's president, Lula da Silva, is expected to visit Tehran next month.

Building strong political ties

New sanctions on Iran could also hurt Turkey's economy.  Next to Russia, Iran is Turkey's largest supplier of gas.

The deepening economic dependancy is an indication that Ankara may be ready to stand up to its allies over Iranian sanctions, according to political scientist Nuray Mert of Istanbul University.

"I was inclined to think that at the end of the day Turkey will join the club when it comes to realization⁷ of these sanctions because its inevitable," he said. "But nowadays, I can see the government is planning to avoid these sanctions.  Because now we have Turkey signing a lot of economic agreements, against the policy of sanctions."

Turkey's ruling AK party, with its Islamic roots, has worked hard to build strong political ties with its Iranian neighbor.  Prime Minister Erdogan refers to the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a friend.  He stood by President Ahmadinejad after his contentious⁸ election victory last year. 

Tough choice

But despite such friendly relations, political columnist⁹ Akif Emre says Turkey being a NATO member and bidding to join the European Union means in any show down Ankara will not abandon its Western allies.

"A difficult choice, yes, but Turkish government does not want to prefer this choice," he said. "But first of all would try to keep balance, but Turkish government will choose the Western bloc¹⁰ because Turkish ties with the Western block is very strong.  Yes, Iran we are neighbors, but political , military, and economic ties with the Western bloc are very strong.  So Turkish state and government see this reality."

Political scientist Cengiz Aktar of Istanbul's Bahcesehir University says the ambiguity¹¹ in Turkey's position on new Iranian sanctions is untenable. "I mean this is not the first time, unfortunately Turkey, through especially its foreign policy, is in total contradiction with its allies," he said. 

"So it is being in permanent contradiction with the international community.  Actually the [foreign] minister thinks Turkey can make it alone, by having its own position.  But I think this is a pipe dream.  One cannot have double- or triple-track policy when it comes to international matters after all," he added.

Turkish foreign policy has led critics to accuse the Turkish government of realigning the country from its traditional Western orientation¹², to the East, a charge Turkish leaders strongly deny.

 

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

4 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

5 resolute   

adj.坚决的，果敢的

参考例句：

• He was resolute in carrying out his plan.他坚决地实行他的计划。
• The Egyptians offered resolute resistance to the aggressors.埃及人对侵略者作出坚决的反抗。

6 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

7 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

8 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。

9 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

10 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

11 ambiguity   

n.模棱两可；意义不明确

参考例句：

• The telegram was misunderstood because of its ambiguity.由于电文意义不明确而造成了误解。
• Her answer was above all ambiguity.她的回答毫不含糊。

12 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。