Russia Advises Its Citizens to Leave Iraq

 

 

Peter Thackery

 

Russia is advising its citizens to get out of Iraq after eight workers at a Russian energy company were taken hostage by masked gunmen in Baghdad. All eight have been released unharmed, but Russian officials say they have made preparations to enable a prompt evacuation of all Russian citizens there.

 

The three Russian and five Ukrainian employees of the Russian energy company Interenergoservis were freed after one day in captivity¹.

 

The engineers were in Baghdad to carry out repairs at a power station. They were seized by unidentified gunmen late Monday.

 

One hostage told Russian State Television that they were released as soon as the abductors realized their nationalities.

 

He says there was a translator who came along, who spoke² o.k. Russian. He asked who we were, where we came from, what we were doing here and if we were linked to the Americans, and that was it.

 

The abduction of the eight workers prompted an angry reaction from Moscow - a constant and vocal³ critic of the U.S.-led military operation in Iraq.

 

A Russian Foreign Ministry⁴ spokesman said the kidnapping was the result of a sharp deterioration⁵ in the situation in Iraq and that it was the coalition⁶ forces, which bore responsibility for security there.

 

The head of Russia's Security Council, Igor Ivanov, says Russia's foreign and emergency situations ministries⁷ have prepared the necessary measures for the prompt evacuation of Russian citizens.

 

Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, told reporters in Ukraine that Russia is ready to help its citizens as required.

 

"Of course it is up to the companies themselves to decide," he said. "But if they feel they need help from the state, to guarantee safety, then the help is there and the orders will be given." Some Russian companies are already pulling their workers out of Iraq. The state-owned company Tekhpromexport has announced it is evacuating⁸ its 370 staff members because of the rising violence.

 

Tekhpromexport is Russia's top contractor⁹ in Iraq, and employs most of the 500 Russian nationals working to help rebuild the country.

 

hostage [5hCstidV] n. 人质

Baghdad [`bA^dAd] n. 巴格达（伊拉克首都）

evacuation [i7vAkju5eiFEn] n. 撤退，走开

Ukrainian [ju(:)5kreinjEn] adj. 乌克兰的

Interenergoservis  俄罗斯的一家能源公司

captivity [kAp5tIvItI] n. 囚禁，被关

abductor [Ab5dQktE] n. 诱拐者

vocal [5vEukl] adj. （喜欢）畅所欲言的，畅言无忌的

kidnap [5kidnAp] vt. 绑架

deterioration [di7tiEriE5reiFEn] n. 变坏

pull out  v. 撤出

contractor [kEn5trAktE] n. 承包人

1 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

4 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。

5 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

8 evacuating   

撤离，疏散( evacuate的现在分词 )； 排空（胃肠），排泄（粪便）； （从危险的地方）撤出，搬出，撤空

参考例句：

• The solution is degassed by alternately freezing, evacuating and thawing. 通过交替的冻结、抽空和溶化来使溶液除气。
• Are we evacuating these potential targets? 能够在这些目标地域内进行疏散吗？

9 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。