staunch 復習

At least 270,000 people have fled their homes in south-western Syria since the military launched an assault on rebel-held areas two weeks ago, the UN says.

中略

Deraa and Quneitra had been relatively calm for almost a year because of a "de-escalation" agreement brokered by the US and Jordan, which support the opposition, and Russia, a staunch ally of the government.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-44682266

気になった表現はstaunch / stˈɔːntʃ / です。後ろにallyが続くことや文脈からから、プラスの意味の形容詞だと予測しました。『ジーニアス英和辞典』で調べると「信頼に足る，忠実な」とあります。Cambridge Dictionaryでは“always loyal in supporting a person, organization, or set of beliefs or opinion”と定義されていました。(Kiwi girl)

staunch#3 - 田邉祐司ゼミ 常時英心：言葉の森から
staunch #2 - 田邉祐司ゼミ 常時英心：言葉の森から
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/A30/20130412/1365766935: title