VOA标准英语2008年-Russia Rejects New UN Draft on Georgia

Russia's U.N. ambassador says his government will not support a French-sponsored draft Security Council resolution calling for the immediate¹ withdrawal² of Russian forces from Georgia. From United Nation's headquarters in New York, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.
　
Vitaly Churkin talks to reporters at UN headquarters in New York, 14 Aug 2008

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the council Tuesday that the French draft does not contain the six principles agreed to in Moscow last week by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Russian counterpart Dmitri Medvedev.

"The Russian Federation³ will not be able to support the draft resolution of the Security Council submitted by France today. The representative of France has just referred to two elements in the peace plan. There are six principles which were proclaimed by the presidents of France and Russia," he said.

As a permanent Security Council member, Russia could veto the French resolution if it comes to vote.

The six principles Churkin referred to are a cessation of hostilities⁴; a promise for the parties not to revert⁵ to violence; access to humanitarian⁶ aid; the return of Georgian troops to their permanent bases; the withdrawal of Russian forces to their pre-conflict positions; and the opening of international discussions on models for security and stability in the breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

France requested Tuesday's emergency council meeting and circulated the new, watered-down draft among the 15-members. The new text only calls on Russia to comply with the cease-fire agreement and demanding the immediate withdrawal of Russian and Georgian forces to pre-August sixth positions.

In an open session, several council members expressed concern that Russian troops continue to be present in Georgia, despite commitments and assurances that they would be withdrawing. The United States was among those members. U.S. Ambassador Alejandro Wolff: "Whatever the reasons the Russia Federation claims it had to enter Georgia, it is abundantly clear today, on August 19th, that it has no business being in Georgia anymore and needs to leave," he said.

France's deputy U.N. ambassador said his delegation⁷ would wait to see how the situation evolved on the ground in Georgia before deciding whether to press for a vote on the resolution.

1 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。

2 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

3 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

4 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

5 revert   

v.恢复，复归，回到

参考例句：

• Let us revert to the earlier part of the chapter.让我们回到本章的前面部分。
• Shall we revert to the matter we talked about yesterday?我们接着昨天谈过的问题谈，好吗？

6 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

7 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。