VOA标准英语2013--克里、黑格将访问俄罗斯

 

Kerry, Hagel to Meet with Russian Counterparts 克里、黑格将访问俄罗斯

STATE DEPARTMENT — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense¹ Secretary Chuck Hagel are meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in a two-plus-two meeting Friday at the State Department. The meeting will come just two days after President Barack Obama canceled a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin that was scheduled to take place next month ahead of the G20 summit in St. Petersburg.

U.S. diplomats² are trying to stand on rapidly shrinking common ground with Russia going into Friday’s talks. The latest quake to rock bilateral³ relations came earlier this week, when President Barack Obama canceled a summit with the Russian president that was set to take place ahead of next month’s G20 conference.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki explained the decision.

“We were not at the point on our progress on a number of these issues where a summit at a presidential level was the most constructive⁴ step,” said Psaki.

Issues, including Moscow’s crackdown on domestic dissent⁵, U.S. missile defense plans for Europe and - the final irritation⁶ – Russia granting asylum⁷ to Edward Snowden, who is wanted by the United States for leaking information about its secret surveillance programs. 

Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies says the move is a major diplomatic setback⁸.

"You talk. You do not send a message that is meaningful by not communicating, by not meeting," says Cordesman.

But the State Department says the man behind the latest disagreement won’t shackle⁹ progress on other issues.

"I don’t think there’s any secret about where the United States stands on Mr. Snowden. It is a part, but it is not a large part of what the agenda will be on Friday,” said spokeswoman Psaki.

Syria’s bloody¹⁰ civil war is also a point of contention¹¹. And it’s one that both Anthony Cordesman and the Middle East Institute’s Graeme Bannerman say will be difficult to move forward.

"Russia does not trust the United States in the Middle East. We want Russia to adopt our policy and they are not prepared to do so," said Bannerman.

Cordesman again stressed the importance of communication.

"A lot of it is going to be simply agreeing not to do things, agreeing to communicate, trying to find a way to influence from the outside."

After the 2+2 talks in the morning, Secretary Kerry and Secretary Hagel will meet separately with their counterparts in the afternoon. The goal is to keep the dialogue between the two countries flowing, even as recent disagreements threaten to dam up progress. 

1 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。

2 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

5 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

6 irritation   

n.激怒，恼怒，生气

参考例句：

• He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
• Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说，但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。

7 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。

8 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

9 shackle   

n.桎梏，束缚物；v.加桎梏，加枷锁，束缚

参考例句：

• He's too young to shackle himself with the responsibilities of a family.他还太年轻，不能用家庭责任来束缚自己。
• This issue always is a shackle which confines the brand building of industry product.这个问题一直是限制工业品品牌塑造的桎梏。

10 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

11 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。