VOA标准英语2014--Friends of Syria Push Opposition Toward Geneva Talks

 

Friends of Syria Push Opposition¹ Toward Geneva Talks 

PARIS — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry joined other foreign ministers backing opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Paris Sunday.  They are trying to bring together disparate civilian² and military components³ of the uprising ahead of planned peace talks later this month. Syria's government and its opponents remain divided over the purpose of those talks.

Rival opponents of Assad battle for control of parts of Aleppo.  The main rebel coalition⁴ fights to reverse gains by extremist militias⁵ allied⁶ with al-Qaida.

In Paris, foreign ministers discussed those developments as they worked to strengthen Syria's more moderate opposition ahead of peace talks planned in Geneva this month. 

"The international community must gather around a single conviction that there is no other solution for the Syrian tragedy than a political solution and there is no possibility to achieve one if the Geneva talks do not take place," said French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

But Assad opponents have not committed to those talks because of differences about who truly represents the Syrian people, said U.S. Institute of Peace analyst⁷ Steve Heydemann.

"The Syrian coalition feels quite insecure about whether it would participate in Geneva as the sole, legitimate⁸ representative of the Syrian people. There's concern that their participation⁹ could be compromised if groups outside of the coalition were invited to Geneva in the name of inclusion," he said.

And that's putting pressure on the so-called Friends of Syria -- mostly Western and Gulf¹⁰ Arab governments that back Syria's opposition.

"If the core Friends of Syria group can not bring to Geneva a broad enough cross section of the opposition to make those negotiations¹¹ credible¹², then the outcome is never going to be accepted, never going to be taken as legitimate by groups on the ground, particularly armed groups," said Heydemann.

The head of Syria's main civilian opposition, Ahmad al-Jarba,  met with foreign ministers in Paris Sunday and said Syrians were united behind removing their president.

"The most important aspect of today's meeting is that we all agree to say that Assad has no future in Syria," he said.

But President Assad said he's not stepping down, and that these talks would be about fighting terrorists, among whom he includes the armed opposition. Assad was in a far stronger position than he was a year ago, said former U.S. ambassador Adam Ereli, and that made the talks even more difficult.

"If I'm sitting in Damascus in the presidential palace, I'll say: 'What transition? What the heck are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere, and who's going to make me?'," he said.

 

Beyond the question of Syria's opposition, there's also the issue of whether and how Iran might join the talks in Geneva. That's the focal point of talks here between Secretary Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday.

1 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。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

6 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

7 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

8 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

9 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。

10 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

11 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。

12 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？