Clinton, Annan to meet on Syria

WASHINGTON, June 4 (www.tingvoa.com) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet with UN-Arab League joint¹ special envoy² for Syria Kofi Annan in Washington on Friday, to discuss the current situation in the Middle East country, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said on Monday.

As I said, Kofi Annan will be here on Friday, so there's a lot going on here, Toner told reporters at a briefing.

The Friday meeting will come a day after Clinton attends a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey on how to end the year-long violence in Syria.

According to Toner, in her recent discussions with world leaders, Clinton has been calling for more pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to comply with the six-point peace plan proposed by Annan.

The spokesman added that Washington sees a very significant role for Russia in using its influence to persuade Assad to step aside.

Toner said that the U.S. government will continue to work within the UN Security Council and with the Friends of Syrian People to continue the political and economic pressure.

1 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。

2 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。