2006年VOA标准英语-Serbian Leader Warns Against Kosovo Independenc

By David Gollust
Washington
07 September 2006

Serbian President warned Thursday in Washington that independence for the Serbian province of Kosovo would create a dangerous precedent¹ for the Balkans and elsewhere. The Belgrade official is holding talks with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other senior U.S. officials focusing on the issue of Kosovo's future status. 

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Boris Tadic  
  
Although U.S.-Serbian relations have been strained by that country's failure to apprehend² Balkans war crimes figures, Mr. Tadic is getting top-level access on his Washington visit, including meetings with Secretary Rice and Vice³ President Dick Cheney.

The visit comes as U.N.-mediated talks in Vienna on the final status of Kosovo are entering a critical phase. The Serbian president is stressing his opposition⁴ to independence for the majority ethnic-Albanian province of Serbia, which has been under U.N. administration since 1999.

In a talk with reporters after meeting Secretary Rice, Mr. Tadic said his government, which has advocated autonomy, but not independence for Kosovo, has no intention of running the political life of the Kosovo Albanian community.

But he said Serbia wants to uphold the rights of the Kosovo's Serb minority and defend Serbian national interests. And he said making the province independent would have negative implications for the region and beyond.

"Future status of Kosovo is very important for the stability of Kosovo. But, at the some time, that can be a precedent, if Kosovo is going to become an independent country, a precedent very dangerous, not only for the Balkans, but for other regions in the world," he said.

Mr. Tadic, a pro-Western Serbian politician elected in 2004, said the issue of indicted⁵ Balkans war crimes suspects still at large is not related to Kosovo.

The fact that former Bosnian-Serb president Radovan Karadzic and his military chief, Ratko Mladic, have not been apprehended⁶ has strained Serbia's relations with the United States and the European Union, and led the U.S. Congress to cut aid to Belgrade.

Mr. Tadic and Secretary Rice did sign a status-of-forces agreement defining the legal status of any U.S. military personnel, who may operate on Serbian soil.

The United States has similar accords with more than 100 other countries. The Serbian president said he hoped the agreement would be a springboard to more military cooperation, and open the way to private U.S. investment in his country.

1 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

2 apprehend   

vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑

参考例句：

• I apprehend no worsening of the situation.我不担心局势会恶化。
• Police have not apprehended her killer.警察还未抓获谋杀她的凶手。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 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。

5 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

6 apprehended   

逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解

参考例句：

• She apprehended the complicated law very quickly. 她很快理解了复杂的法律。
• The police apprehended the criminal. 警察逮捕了罪犯。