2006年VOA标准英语-UN Security Council Urges Syria to Establi

By Peter Heinlein
United Nations
17 May 2006

The U.N. Security Council is pressing Syria to establish diplomatic relations with Lebanon and define their common border. 

A Lebanese soldier near the Syrian border   
  
The Council adopted a resolution strongly encouraging Syria to establish formal diplomatic ties with Lebanon. The measure sponsored by France, Britain and the United States also calls for the two neighbors to set their common border.

Thirteen of the Council's 15 member states voted in favor of the resolution. China and Russia abstained².

Washington's U.N. Ambassador John Bolton said he would have preferred a unanimous vote. B ut he called the resolution an important step in implementing³ previous Council demands for the disarming⁴ of militias⁵ and the withdrawal⁶ of all foreign forces from Lebanon.

"It clearly says to Syria that it needs to do more to stop the flow of weapons across the Syrian/Lebanese border, and makes clear that further disarming of all militias inside Lebanon is an important priority," he said.

The resolution makes makes no specific mention of Iran, as did a recent report to the Council by Secretary-General Kofi Annan. But Bolton said he was satisfied with a clear implicit⁷ reference to Iran's role in Lebanon.

"Now the two states mentioned are Iran and Syria," he said. "So there is no ambiguity⁸ what that phrase means. It could have named Iran in its full four letters, but that reference makes it unambiguously clear that Iran is referred to."

Syria had lobbied hard to have the resolution defeated. Deputy Syrian Foreign Minister Fayssal Mekdad came to the U.N. last week arguing the measure constituted interference in the relationship between Damascus and Beirut.

Russia and China made clear that they thought the resolution was unnecessary. But they chose to abstain¹ rather than use their veto power.

Moscow's U.N. Ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, described the measure as "unhelpful" in settling bilateral⁹ issues between Syria and Lebanon.

"We simply do not believe it's the best way to develop dialogue to get the two sides into the habit of talking through the Security Council," he said. "We're in favor of dialogue. We just do not think it is right for the Security Council to look over their shoulder at every particular juncture¹⁰ and make comments and remarks about the particular nature of their dialogue."

Syria's foreign ministry¹¹ in a written statement called the Security Council action provocative¹² and biased¹³.

Syria withdrew its troops from Lebanon last year, after 29 years of military and political domination of its smaller neighbor.

But Secretary-General Kofi Annan's recent report noted¹⁴ that Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon continue to maintain close ties with Syria and Iran. The United States lists Hezbollah as a terrorist group.

1 abstain   

v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免

参考例句：

• His doctor ordered him to abstain from beer and wine.他的医生嘱咐他戒酒。
• Three Conservative MPs abstained in the vote.三位保守党下院议员投了弃权票。

2 abstained   

v.戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的过去式和过去分词 )；弃权（不投票）

参考例句：

• Ten people voted in favour, five against and two abstained. 十人投票赞成，五人反对，两人弃权。
• They collectively abstained (from voting) in the elections for local councilors. 他们在地方议会议员选举中集体弃权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

4 disarming   

adj.消除敌意的，使人消气的v.裁军( disarm的现在分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• He flashed her a disarming smile. 他朝她笑了一下，让她消消气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We will agree to disarming troops and leaving their weapons at military positions. 我们将同意解除军队的武装并把武器留在军事阵地。 来自辞典例句

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 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。

7 implicit   

a.暗示的，含蓄的，不明晰的，绝对的

参考例句：

• A soldier must give implicit obedience to his officers. 士兵必须绝对服从他的长官。
• Her silence gave implicit consent. 她的沉默表示默许。

8 ambiguity   

n.模棱两可；意义不明确

参考例句：

• The telegram was misunderstood because of its ambiguity.由于电文意义不明确而造成了误解。
• Her answer was above all ambiguity.她的回答毫不含糊。

9 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

10 juncture   

n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头

参考例句：

• The project is situated at the juncture of the new and old urban districts.该项目位于新老城区交界处。
• It is very difficult at this juncture to predict the company's future.此时很难预料公司的前景。

11 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

12 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

13 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

14 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。