Britain. Foreign policy

TEXT 1

The foreign policy of the Conservative cabinet is motivated by the interests of the British ruling class and by its commitments to NATO of which Britain is an active participant.

The war between Britain and Argentina in 1982 over the disputed Falkland Islands indicated that Britain was ready to use force to defend its territorial ambitions overseas. The Falkland Islands or the Malvinas as the Argentinians call them, situated in the South Atlantic at a distance of 400 miles from Argentine territory and more than 8, 000 miles from Britain were seized by the British colonizers in the 1830s. Argentina never recognized British sovereignty over the islands. In 1982 war broke out between the two countries. Britain using her military might and with full American backing won the war, which cost the British people more than 2 billion pounds. Moreover, further military construction on the islands meant 4 billion pounds out of the budget. The British government attaches strategic importance to the islands. The United Nations overwhelmingly backed Argentina in her claims of sovereignty over the islands.

The policy of Great Britain towards South Africa is motivated by the interests of “big business”, which is deeply involved in the economy of South Africa. The British monopolies derive great profits by exploiting the vast resources of the state. This explains why Margaret Thatcher stubbornly refused to impose sanctions against the apartheid regime defying the appeals of the African and Asian states to take joint action against a white minority regime based on terror and mass police reprisals against the African majority.

As regards Anglo-Soviet relations one should note their changeable character with all their frosts and subsequent thaws. Recent years, especially after the official visit of the Soviet parliamentary delegation headed by M. Gorbachev to Britain in 1984 are marked by most positive developments. There has been an increase in the volume of bilateral trade which exceeds 2 billion roubles.

The official visits of the British Prime Minister to the Soviet Union in 1987 and of Geoffrey Hove, the Foreign Secretary, in 1988 contributed notably toward the development of a dialogue between Britain and the Soviet Union in all fields of cooperation. However, the official state visit of M. Gorbachev to Britain in 1989 with all the ensuring results heralded a new most positive page in the history of Anglo-Soviet relations. The summit meeting between M. Gorbachev and M. Thatcher gave a powerful fillip to a marked improvement of relations between the two states in all fields of cooperation in full keeping with the concept of a new mentality in international relations advocated by the Soviet government.

The British government greeted the INF (Intermediate Nuclear Forces) treaty signed between the USSR and the USA in 1987. However, Margaret Thatcher refused to abandon her nuclear deterrent policy. The champions of peace demand that the British government should take practical steps to a non-nuclear world and to an end of the arms race.

[“Panorama of Great Britain”, 1995]

Задания к тексту I.

I. Определите, являются ли утверждения:

II.Укажите, какой из абзацев текста (с 1 по 6) содержит следующую информацию:

1) о войне между Великобританией и Аргентиной;

2) о политике Британии в Южной Африке;

3) об англо-советских отношениях;

4) об официальных визитах М. Тэтчер и М. Горбачева.

III. Ответьте на вопрос:

IV. Определите основную идею текста.

a) Argentina never recognized British sovereignty over the islands.

b) The foreign policy of the Conservative cabinet is motivated by the interests of the British ruling class.

c) There has been an increase in the volume of bilateral trade which exceeds 2 billion roubles.

d) The concept of a new mentality in international relations is advocated by the Soviet government.

Ключи:

I. 1 – б; 2 – а; 3 – а; 4 – в.

II. b.

III. 1 - 2; 2 - 3; 3 - 4; 4 - 5.

IV. b.

TEXT 2