VOA标准英语10月-NATO Rules Out Supplying Weapons For Georgia

United States Defense¹ Secretary Robert Gates says it appears Russian troops are withdrawing from key positions in the former Soviet² republic of Georgia, nearly two months after a brief war ended between Russian and Georgian troops. He made the comments on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Budapest, where defense ministers pledged political and practical support for Georgia, but ruled out delivering weapons to the country. Stefan Bos reports from Budapest.

The two-day NATO summit in Budapest concluded with the first ever ministerial meeting of the NATO-Georgia Commission, which was set up to solidify³ ties between the Western military alliance, and the former Soviet nation.

They gathered Friday, as a deadline expired for Russia to withdraw troops from buffer⁴ zones near Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
　

Robert Gates looks across the room during a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Budapest, Hungary, 10 Oct 2008

Ahead of the meeting, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters there were indications that Russian troops are withdrawing under a European Union brokered⁵ ceasefire agreement.

But he also criticized Russia's military actions in Georgia. "Unfortunately their behavior has undermined security in the region," said Gates. "I am pleased that Russia appears to be fulfilling its obligations under the ceasefire to withdraw in compliance⁶ with tomorrow's deadline."

Yet, Russia has made clear it will keep nearly 8,000 troops in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Moscow recognized the two areas as independent states, following a brief war between Russian and Georgian forces in August.
　

Jaap de Hoop7 Scheffer gestures while speaking during a media conference after a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Budapest, 10 Oct 2008

NATO has condemned⁸ the move and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the alliance would continue to support Georgia's territorial⁹ integrity. However, he ruled out NATO's military involvement in the area.

"The Georgian Defense minister of course heard firm support for Georgia's territorial integrity," said de Hoop Scheffer. "We discussed NATO's stepped-up support for Georgia's defense reform. To avoid any misunderstandings NATO will not supply any weapons to Georgia. But we can and do provide guidance and expert advise to Georgia as it sets it own priorities."

He added that NATO will help Georgia to recover from its recent conflict by providing, as an example, capabilities¹⁰ to get a better air picture of the situation on the ground.

De Hoop Scheffer stressed, however, the Budapest meeting was not used to assess Georgia's readiness to join the alliance. He said the first assessment¹¹ will be made by NATO foreign ministers in December in Brussels.

Georgian Defense Minister David Kezerashvili said his government wants to join NATO soon, despite Russian opposition¹². "We hope that our continued good performance and alliance performance based policy will enable us to make swiftly the next step on our direct way to NATO membership," he said.

Earlier Friday, NATO defense ministers focused their attention on Afghanistan. They authorized¹³ their troops in Afghanistan to attack drug runners who are blamed for pumping up to $100 million a year into the coffers of Taliban militants¹⁴.

However, soldiers will only be able to attack drug facilities if authorized by their own governments, and only drug producers deemed to be supporting the insurgency¹⁵ will be targeted, till Afghan forces are able to take on the task.

NATO defense ministers will review the mission when they meet again in February in Poland.

De Hoop Scheffer said he was less satisfied with other military commitments to the mission in Afghanistan, including his call for more retooled¹⁶ helicopters to reduce the time injured soldiers have to wait on the battle field before receiving medical assistance and to improve overall security.

The military alliance also looked at other security threats in the world, including Somalia, where it agreed to send a seven-ship force to protect ships of the United Nations Food Program against piracy¹⁷. Pirates have attacked dozens of vessels¹⁸ and are still holding ships, including a Ukrainian cargo¹⁹ ship seized laden²⁰ with heavy weapons.

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 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

3 solidify   

v.(使)凝固，(使)固化，(使)团结

参考例句：

• Opinion on this question began to solidify.对这个问题的意见开始具体化了。
• Water will solidify into ice if you freeze it.水冷冻会结冰。

4 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。

5 brokered   

adj.由权力经纪人安排（或控制）的v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的过去式和过去分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• a peace plan brokered by the UN 由联合国出面协商的和平计划
• Your husband brokered the deal to go in, transfrer the assets and get our man out. 你丈夫后来插了一脚，把生意都抢了过去，我们的人也被挤了出来。 来自电影对白

6 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

7 hoop   

n.（篮球）篮圈，篮

参考例句：

• The child was rolling a hoop.那个孩子在滚铁环。
• The wooden tub is fitted with the iron hoop.木盆都用铁箍箍紧。

8 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

9 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。

10 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

11 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

12 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。

13 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

14 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

15 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

16 retooled   

v.（给…）更换工具， （给…）更换机械设备( retool的过去式和过去分词 )；改组，革新

参考例句：

• The company will be retooled after the incorporation. 合并之后的公司要进行重组。 来自辞典例句
• Each time the product changes, the machines have to be retooled. 每次更换产品，就得重新装备机器。 来自辞典例句

17 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

18 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

19 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

20 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。