2007年VOA标准英语-Britain Expelling Russian Diplomats as Anger Ov

By Tom Rivers
London
16 July 2007

Britain is expelling four Russian diplomats¹ and exploring other retaliatory² measures after the refusal by Moscow to send former intelligence officer Andrei Lugovoi to London for trial in the murder of his former colleague, Alexander Litvinenko. Moscow says the British move will lead to serious consequences when Russia responds. For VOA, Tom Rivers reports from London.

British-Russian relations have taken a frosty turn with the decision by London to expel a number of Russian diplomats after Moscow's refusal to extradite the main suspect in the murder of Alexander Litvinenko.

Former Russian intelligence officer Litvinenko died last November after being poisoned with the radioactive substance, polonium-210 in the British capital.

Andrei Lugovoi, May 2007

Among the last people he met on the day he became ill was a former colleague of his, Andrei Lugovoi.

Lugovoi has repeatedly denied any involvement in Litvinenko's death, and Moscow has formally told London that a request for his extradition³ could not be fulfilled as it would be in breach⁴ of the Russian constitution.

In the House of Commons, Foreign Secretary David Miliband underlined that the British government continues to take matter very seriously.

"Our aims are clear," said Mr. Miliband. "First, to advance our judicial⁵ process, second, to bring home to the Russian government the consequences of their failure to cooperate and third, to emphasize our commitment to promoting the safety of British citizens and visitors."

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Jun 2007

Given the impasse⁶, Mr. Miliband outlined a number of measures London will impose on Moscow.

"First, we will expel four diplomats from the Russian embassy in London," he said. "Second, we shall review the extent of our cooperation with Russia on a range of issues and as an initial step, we have visa facilitation negotiations⁷ with Russia and made other changes to visa practice."

"Third, international agreements mean Mr. Lugovoi could be extradited to the UK if he traveled abroad. Fourth, we are grateful for the strong support we have received from EU [European Union] partners and close allies, including through the EU presidency⁸ statement on the first of June. We will discuss with partners the need for future EU-Russian engagement to take up concerns on this case into account," he continued.

Russia promises to give what it calls an "adequate response" to the British expulsion order. Part of that response may come in the form of reprisal⁹ tit-for-tat expulsions and a return to cooler relations in general.

1 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

3 extradition   

n.引渡（逃犯）

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight,awaiting extradition to Britain.这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• He began to trouble concerning the extradition laws.他开始费尽心思地去想关于引渡法的问题。

4 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。

5 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

6 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

7 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

8 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。

9 reprisal   

n.报复，报仇，报复性劫掠

参考例句：

• There is no political alternative but a big reprisal.政治上没有旁的选择只能是大规模报复。
• They bombed civilian targets in reprisal.他们炮轰平民目标作为报复。