2007年VOA标准英语-Bush, Poland's President Say Missiles No Threat

By Scott Stearns
Rome
08 June 2007

U.S. President George Bush and Polish President Lech Kaczynski say American plans to base missiles in Poland are no threat to Russia. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered to join that missile defense¹ system after initially² denouncing it as the start of a new arms race.

President Bush and President Kaczynski both sought to allay³ Russian concerns about the U.S. missile defense system which would build a radar⁴ base in the Czech Republic and install a battery of Interceptor missiles in Poland to guard against attack from Iran.

Speaking through a translator, President Kaczynski said Russia has nothing to fear from U.S. missiles in Poland.

"The system has no aggressive intentions," he said.  "This is the plan which is to reinforce the protection of Europe against dangers which result from the fact that not all the countries of the contemporary world are responsible, although we do not mean Russia here. It is about other states," he said.

President Kaczynski and President Bush spoke⁵ to reporters in the Polish city Gdansk following the American leader's participation⁶ in a summit of the major industrialized nations in Germany.

President Bush says he appreciates the Polish leader's support for missile defense.

"We will negotiate a fair agreement that enhances the security of Poland and the security of the entire continent against rogue⁷ regimes that might be willing to try to blackmail⁸ free nations," he said.  "That's the true threat of the 21st century."

President Bush and President Putin met Thursday at the G8 summit where the Russian leader made a surprise move to join the plan by offering the use of a Soviet-built radar station in Azerbaijan.

Speaking through a translator, President Putin said he has already discussed the idea with the President of Azerbaijan.

President Bush, (l), and Russian President Vladimir Putin talk to reporters after their meeting in Heiligendamm, Germany, 07 Jun 2007

"The existing agreement with Azerbaijan makes it possible for us to do this," said Mr. Putin.  "And the President of Azerbaijan stressed that he will be only too glad to contribute to the cause of global security and stability."

Mr. Putin told reporters in Germany Friday that the U.S. anti-missile system could be placed in Turkey or Iraq.  He said use of the Azerbaijani radar will make the Polish and Czech deployment⁹ unnecessary.

If his offer is accepted, President Putin said he will not follow through on threats to retarget Russian missiles against Europe in response to U.S. plans.

President Bush said using the Soviet-era radar station is an interesting idea, and both men committed to having their respective Secretaries of State and Defense meet to discuss the details.

Following his stop in Poland President Bush left for Italy where he will meet separately Saturday with Pope Benedict and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi.

1 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。

2 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

3 allay   

v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等)

参考例句：

• The police tried to allay her fears but failed.警察力图减轻她的恐惧，但是没有收到什么效果。
• They are trying to allay public fears about the spread of the disease.他们正竭力减轻公众对这种疾病传播的恐惧。

4 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

5 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。

6 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

7 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

8 blackmail   

n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓

参考例句：

• She demanded ＄1000 blackmail from him.她向他敲诈了1000美元。
• The journalist used blackmail to make the lawyer give him the documents.记者讹诈那名律师交给他文件。

9 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。