VOA常速英语2007年-Expert Assesses Potential Fallout Between Russi

By Victoria Cavaliere
New York
06 December 2007

International mediators are due to present a report to the United Nations Security Council next week on Kosovo's push for unilateral independence from Serbia. More than a dozen European nations and the United States are poised¹ to recognize Kosovo's independence, while Serbia and its ally Russia oppose it, saying such a move would violate international law. Victoria Cavaliere reports from VOA's New York Bureau that regional experts believe the diplomatic standoff could widen a rift² between Russia and the West and might also result in a return to violence in the Balkans.

Mediators from the United States, Russia and the European Union ended four months of talks last week on the final status of Kosovo, saying Belgrade and Pristina were nowhere near a compromise.

The so-called "troika" of mediators will present their conclusions in a report to the United Nations Monday.

Meanwhile, Kosovo's president, Fatmir Sejdiu, said last week the province would declare independence "shortly." He did not, however, name a date.

Although it is formally a part of Serbia, Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO forces drove out Serbian troops that killed an estimated 10,000 ethnic³ Albanians during a two-year war.

Serbian leaders say they want to continue talks until the two sides reach a mutually acceptable solution. They have offered Kosovo autonomy, but oppose outright⁴ independence.

Charles Kupchan, the senior fellow for European Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, says he believes that any more discussion on the issue will prove futile⁵.

"The distance between Belgrade and Pristina is huge. It has not closed since the very beginning, and there is not a prospect⁶ of a compromise from either side. In that sense I fear we are looking at situation where there will be a major rift between Moscow and Washington and Moscow and the European Union," he said.

Russia, a Serb ally, insists the issue should be decided⁷ by the U.N. Security Council. In July, Moscow threatened to use its veto power and blocked a Western-backed plan for EU-supervised independence for Kosovo.

Kupchan says Kosovo's independence, which would be monitored by the international community, appears inevitable⁸. But he says western countries must be prepared for the fallout.

"No question that this will be a troubling moment in that there will be ethnic partitions, it will take place without the approval of the U.N. Security Council," he said.

Kupchan says the international community should be ready to act decisively - including putting more riot police on the ground and allowing flexibility⁹ among the NATO troops already there.

"By kicking the can down the road (By delaying approving Kosovo's independence), I think you risk an outbreak of spontaneous violence in a way that you don't if you amputate Kosovo, deal with the immediate¹⁰ implications and what most people expect to be moderate levels of violence rather than another huge conflict," he said.

For its part, Belgrade says it is prepared to sever¹¹ diplomatic ties with nations that breach¹² its territorial¹³ integrity.

On Tuesday, NATO chief General John Craddock said his forces are prepared to respond to violence in coming weeks.

1 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

2 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

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 futile   

adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的

参考例句：

• They were killed,to the last man,in a futile attack.因为进攻失败，他们全部被杀，无一幸免。
• Their efforts to revive him were futile.他们对他抢救无效。

6 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

9 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

10 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

11 sever   

v.切开，割开；断绝，中断

参考例句：

• She wanted to sever all her connections with the firm.她想断绝和那家公司的所有联系。
• We must never sever the cultural vein of our nation.我们不能割断民族的文化血脉。

12 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

13 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。