奥巴马取消“奥普”会

 　　Snub follows Moscow's granting whistle-blower shelter for one year

　　US President Barack Obama is canceling plans to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow next month - a rare diplomatic snub.

　　The move is retribution for Russia's decision to grant temporary asylum¹ to Edward Snowden, who is accused of leaking highly secretive details about US National Security Agency surveillance programs. It also reflects growing US frustration² with Russia on several issues, including missile defense³ and human rights.

　　A top White House official said Obama still plans to attend the Group of 20 economic summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, but has no plans to meet Putin one-on-one.

　　Obama said in an interview on Tuesday he was "disappointed" by Russia's move to grant Snowden asylum for one year. He said it also reflected the "underlying⁴ challenges" the US faces in dealing⁵ with Moscow.

　　US President Barack Obama chats with host Jay Leno during a taping of The Tonight Show at NBC Studios on Tuesday in Burbank, California. Mandel Ngan / Agence France-Presse

　　"There have been times where they slip back into Cold War thinking and a Cold War mentality," Obama said in an interview on NBC's The Tonight Show.

　　The US was expected to alert the Russians on Wednesday morning about Obama's decision, though the two presidents were not expected to speak directly. Obama and Putin last met in June on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Northern Ireland.

　　Instead of visiting Putin in Moscow, the US president will add a stop in Sweden to his early September travel itinerary⁶.

　　White House Deputy National Security Adviser⁷ Ben Rhodes said Russia's decision last week to defy the US only worsened an already troubled relationship. With few signs progress would be made during the Moscow summit on other agenda items, Rhodes said the president decided⁸ to cancel the talks.

　　"We'll still work with Russia on issues where we can find common ground, but it was the unanimous view of the president and his national security team that a summit did not make sense in the current environment," Rhodes said.

　　US. President Barack Obama, left, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G8 Summit at Lough Erne in Enniskillen, Northern reland June 17, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

　　Obama's decision is likely to deepen the chill in the already frosty relationship between the two leaders. They have frequently found themselves at odds⁹ on pressing international issues, most recently in Syria, where the US accuses Putin of helping¹⁰ President Bashar al-Assad fund a civil conflict.

　　Moscow has accused the US of installing a missile shield in Eastern Europe as a deterrent¹¹ against Russia, despite US assurances that the shield is not aimed at its former Cold War foe¹². Putin also signed a law last year banning US adoptions¹³ of Russian children, a move that was seen as retaliation¹⁴ for the US measure that cleared the way for the human rights sanctions.

1 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

2 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

3 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。

4 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 itinerary   

n.行程表，旅行路线；旅行计划

参考例句：

• The two sides have agreed on the itinerary of the visit.双方商定了访问日程。
• The next place on our itinerary was Silistra.我们行程的下一站是锡利斯特拉。

7 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

11 deterrent   

n.阻碍物，制止物；adj.威慑的，遏制的

参考例句：

• Large fines act as a deterrent to motorists.高额罚款是对开车的人的制约。
• I put a net over my strawberries as a deterrent to the birds.我在草莓上罩了网，免得鸟歇上去。

12 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

13 adoptions   

n.采用，收养( adoption的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Adoption agencies are always so open to alternative family adoptions. 领养中介机构永远都对领养家庭敞开。 来自电影对白
• The number of adoptions has grown in the past year. 去年，收养子女的数字增加了。 来自互联网

14 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》