VOA标准英语2013--Kerry Mideast Talks on Syria to Include Russian Call for Involving Iran

Kerry Mideast Talks on Syria to Include Russian Call for Involving Iran

In this fight for control of Syria, Iran is one of the biggest backers of embattled President Bashar al-Assad.  So Russia says Iran should be part of the peace process.  

"Iran has repeatedly underlined its solidarity¹ with the Syrian government. Iranian officials pay regular visits to Damascus.  No geopolitical bias² should be an obstacle to Iran taking part in this conference," said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The Obama administration has in the past objected to Russia's call for Iranian involvement but says no one has yet been ruled in or out of these talks.  State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki says Washington understands Moscow's position on Tehran.

"We have seen the remarks of the Russians.  Again, it’s not a surprise.  They’ve expressed that publicly in the past.  And we’ll work through the participation³ with all parties," Psaki said.

U.S. concerns about involving Iran include how that might distract from ongoing⁴ efforts to limit Tehran's nuclear program as well as its support for Lebanon's Hezbollah, which Syrian opposition⁵ fighters say is helping⁶ Assad forces near the Lebanese border.

"The U.S. perception is that Iran tends to play the role of spoiler in these kinds of settings.  And it's trying to bring around the table parties whom the United States and Russia agree have a vested interest in finding a productive way out of the nightmare that Syria is experiencing,"  said U.S. Institute of Peace analyst⁷ Steve Heydemann:

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem says Iran is helping defend his country. "This is an internal war, but it's also a regional and international war against the Syrian people.  We are ready to defend ourselves and will not be silent in the face of aggression," he said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says only a political settlement can head off broader regional conflict.

"With thanks to God, the situation in Syria is going well.  Syria's courageous⁸ military has regained¹⁰ much of its territory, and Syria will fully¹¹ regain⁹ its strength in the near future," Salehi said.

Heydemann believes there is no way to end the fight without some kind of role for Iran.

"It doesn't mean that the U.S. needs to try to find ways to mollify Iran in addressing the Syria conflict.  But it does mean that we need to find some way to reassure¹² Iran that its equities¹³ will at least be acknowledged as a process of negotiation¹⁴ unfolds," Heydemann said.

Syria's main opposition group has not committed to joining peace talks, in part, because of questions about which Assad allies - like Iran - will take part. 

1 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

2 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

3 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。

4 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

5 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。

6 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。

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 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

9 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

10 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

13 equities   

普通股，股票

参考例句：

• These are invested mainly in the OECD bonds and equities. 这些资产主要投资于经济合作及发展组织的债券与股票市场。
• They are also advantage of the global rebound in equities. 它们还在利用全球股市反弹的机会。

14 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。