Download
US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday called for the immediate cessation of all violence in Syria and voiced their full support for the UN peace plan on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico.
Meanwhile, China urged all parties in Syria to meet their commitments to cease the violence, ensure the safety of the UN observer mission and fully implement the six-point plan sponsored by Kofi Annan, the UN-Arab League special envoy to Syria.
With the bloodshed in Syria getting worse, the talks at the G20 summit tested whether Obama and Putin could forge a working relationship.
It was their first meeting since Putin's return to the presidency last month, and the two leaders sought to paper over disputes on arming Damascus and the prospects for further UN action.
"We are united in the belief that the Syrian people should have the opportunity to independently and democratically choose their own future," the leaders said.
Putin told reporters that he and Obama had found many common points on the 15-month-old uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Obama said he and Putin agreed on the need for a "political process" to halt the conflict and had pledged to work with Kofi Annan.
But there was little sign they had agreed on concrete means to end the conflict.
The US, Britain and France are working on a new UN Council resolution to threaten sanctions against Assad.
The talks came as Syrian security forces pounded opposition areas across the country. Intense artillery fire was reported in Douma, a town 15 kilometers outside the Syrian capital that for weeks has been under the partial control of rebels who have joined the revolt against Assad.
As journalists entered the cramped hotel ballroom, the two leaders were leaning toward each other in discussion, neither smiling. Obama initiated a handshake for the cameras while both he and Putin remained seated.
Obama sometimes gestured toward Putin as he spoke but Putin sat more stiffly through the joint appearance. At the end of their statements, as reporters were being ushered out, both sat glumly watching but made no move to re-engage with each other.
The hardened tone appears to mark the endpoint of Obama's "reset" of ties with Russia, which he pursued with Putin's predecessor, Dmitry Medvedev, with whom Obama shared a strong rapport.
Obama and Putin discussed Syria longer than any other topic - at least a third of their meeting- according to US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul.
Aides said Obama and Putin found some common ground.
The suspension of the UN monitoring mission in Syria over the weekend put added pressure on Obama and Putin to act decisively to keep the conflict from spiraling into civil war.
The rift between the two sides intensified last week when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused Russia of supplying Assad with attack helicopters.
Questions:
1. How long has the uprising in Syria lasted?
2. Which countries are working on a new UN Council resolution to threaten sanctions against Assad?
3. Why did the rift between the US and Russia intensify last week?
Answers:
1. 15 months.
2. The US, Britain and France.
3. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused Russia of supplying Assad with attack helicopters.
About the broadcaster:
Emily Cheng is an editor at China Daily. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Media, English Literature and Politics. She has worked in the media industry since starting university and this is the third time she has settled abroad - she interned with a magazine in Hong Kong 2007 and studied at the University of Leeds in 2009.
精选英语美文阅读:假如生活欺骗了你
浪漫英文情书精选:Need You With Me需要你爱我
精选英语美文阅读:哪有一株忘忧草? (双语)
浪漫英文情书精选:Good Morning早上好
26个英文字母蕴含的人生哲理
精选英语美文阅读:How selfless real love is 无私的爱
精选英语美文阅读:爱的奇迹 Keep on Singing
精选英语散文欣赏:平等的爱
精选英语散文欣赏:微笑挽救生命
精选英语美文阅读:饶孟侃《呼唤》
精选英语散文欣赏:一棵小苹果树
伤感美文:人生若只如初见
浪漫英文情书精选:Could This Be Real?这是真的吗?
精美散文:让我们撩起生命的波纹
英语美文:Keep on Singing
浪漫英文情书精选:Don't Give Up不要放弃
美文欣赏:海边漫步
人生哲理:年轻无悔 别停下追寻梦想的脚步
精选英语美文阅读:一封未发出的英文情书《但是你没有》
双语散文: Optimism and Pessimistic
态度决定一切 Attitude Is Everything
精选英语美文阅读:无雨的梅雨天 (双语)
献给女性:如果生命可以重来
美文:爱的奇迹
英文《小王子》温情语录
英语美文:越长大越孤独(双语)
精选英语美文阅读:被忽略的爱 Helpless love
英语美文:A Psalm of Life 人生礼颂
浪漫英文情书精选:Is It Love?这是爱么?
双语美文欣赏:孤独人生
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |