2007年VOA标准英语-Rice, Putin Agree to Disagree, Respectfully

By Lisa McAdams
Moscow
15 May 2007

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to ease tensions and tone down harsh rhetoric¹, but after two days of extensive talks in Moscow, stark² differences remain over missile defense³ and Kosovo. VOA's Lisa McAdams in Moscow has details.

Vladimir Putin invites Condoleezza Rice for talks at his Novo-Ogaryovo country residence west of Moscow in this 15 Oct 2005 file photo

Secretary Rice told reporters following her talks with President Putin, that on the most contentious⁴ issue in the U.S.-Russia relationship, U.S. plans to build an anti-missile defense shield in Central and Eastern Europe, differences remain.

She says the U.S. is committed to working with Russia in order to lessen⁵ Moscow's concerns that the system poses a risk to its national security. At the same time, Rice was firm on Washington's right to develop such a system to defend itself and Europe, including Russia.

"I don't think anyone expects the United States to permit somehow a veto on American security interests," she said. "But we want to do it in a cooperative way, we want to do it in a collaborative way. And the best way to do it, would be to do it in a more formal, structured cooperation."

Rice says the U.S. plans to better share with Russia the long-range plans for missile defense. Washington says the missile shield, to be deployed⁶ in Poland and the Czech Republic, will protect the U.S. and its allies from missile attacks from Iran.

Russian officials continue to express concern that the system could later expand further into Central and Eastern Europe. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who participated in the talks, characterized the exchange as candid⁷ and friendly, but he said Moscow's stance on missile defense is unchanged.

On Kosovo, where there were greater hopes for a possible breakthrough, there was also little sign of progress. Russia has expressed reluctance⁸ to support a United Nations plan granting supervised independence to Serbia's breakaway province.

Despite the failure to remove key stumbling blocks, Rice told reporters she is upbeat about the state of U.S.-Russian relations.

"I don't want the considerable degree of cooperation that we have on a number of issues to be lost," she said. "It's one reason that the overheated rhetoric is particularly damaging because it obscures the fact that on some of the most sensitive issues that one can imagine - non-proliferation, nuclear terrorism, the fight against terrorism, information and intelligence-sharing-work together on Iran or on North Korea - that we have good relations."

Rice also said she hopes the U.S. has seen the last of harsh attacks, like the one President Putin launched during a major foreign policy speech earlier this year in Germany, where he accused the United States of making the world a more dangerous place.

But the Russian press was pessimistic. One newspaper, Vremya Novostei, wrote that the tensions do not bode⁹ well for President Putin's encounter next month with President Bush at the G-8 Summit in Germany.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose country holds the EU presidency¹⁰, was also in Russia Tuesday on a last minute visit to discuss what is expected to be a contentious EU-Russia Summit in the city of Samara later this week.

Steinmeier said both sides must acknowledge their concerns and discuss them, rather than turn away from conflict. President Putin acknowledged there are problems, but played down their severity.

1 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

2 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 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。

5 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

6 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

7 candid   

adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的

参考例句：

• I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。
• He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。

8 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

9 bode   

v.预示

参考例句：

• These figures do not bode well for the company's future.这些数字显示出公司的前景不妙。
• His careful habits bode well for his future.他那认真的习惯预示著他会有好的前途。

10 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。