Blinken is on a mission to defuse the crisis between Ukraine and Russia

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Blinken is on a mission to defuse the crisis between Ukraine and Russia

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With Russian troops massed on Ukraine's border and Washington warning Moscow may stage a false flag operation as a pretext² to invade, Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Kyiv to show solidarity³.

DEBBIE ELLIOTT, HOST:

As tensions between Russia and Ukraine continue to ratchet up, the Biden administration has dispatched Secretary of State Antony Blinken on a mission to defuse the crisis.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Speaking at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv today, Secretary Blinken expressed concern over Russia's maneuverings at the border.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ANTONY BLINKEN: We know that there are plans in place to increase that force even more on very short notice, and that gives President Putin the capacity, also on very short notice, to take further aggressive action against Ukraine.

MARTINEZ: A series of diplomatic talks last week did not produce any meaningful progress between the two countries. Blinken is scheduled to meet with his Russian counterpart on Friday, but today he is in Ukraine.

ELLIOTT: Traveling with the secretary of state is NPR's diplomatic correspondent, Michele Kelemen. And she's on the line now from Kyiv.

Who's Blinken meeting with today, and what will be his message?

MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE⁴: Well, his main goal is to show solidarity with Ukraine at this very dangerous moment. He's meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and he started his day at the U.S. Embassy to talk about contingency⁵ planning in case Russia escalates⁶ further. As you heard him say there, the U.S. is really worried that this Russian military buildup is continuing. Russia moved troops into Belarus over the weekend. Blinken says he hopes that Russia will take a diplomatic path. But he says the U.S. and its partners have to be ready for anything. And he wasn't the only one making this case. There was a bipartisan congressional delegation⁷ here earlier this week. And CIA Director Bill Burns quietly visited last week.

ELLIOTT: So just what is the U.S. willing to do? How much support will the U.S. give Ukraine in the event of an invasion, which the White House now seems to think is a real serious threat?

KELEMEN: Yeah. Well, the U.S. has provided defensive⁸ weapons to Ukraine. And an official told us today that the administration recently approved another $200 million in security assistance. And it's not just the U.S. The Brits are also sending weapons. In fact, there was a British cargo⁹ plane on the tarmac when we arrived here in Ukraine today. There are other areas where the U.S. is trying to help, too - pushing back on Russian disinformation, beefing up cybersecurity. A lot of this, Debbie, is really just about deterrence¹⁰, but so far, the Russians don't seem very deterred¹¹.

ELLIOTT: What about the Ukrainians? What are they hoping will come out of these talks?

KELEMEN: Well, they want the U.S. to keep its promise that it's not going to negotiate with Russia about Ukraine without Ukraine. That's kind of the motto these days. They say their military is not the same as it was in 2014, when Russia seized Crimea and stirred up that separatist movement in eastern Ukraine - areas that are still controlled by Russian proxies¹². But Ukraine does want the help of U.S. and other NATO countries. They want military assistance and diplomatic backing.

ELLIOTT: So Secretary Blinken next goes to Germany, presumably to shore up solidarity on this issue among NATO allies. Then he goes to Geneva to meet with Russia's foreign minister. Do you have a sense of what he might be willing to offer to encourage the Russians to stand down those troops?

KELEMEN: The Russians have been demanding written responses to the ideas they laid out - ideas that include, among other things, a promise that Ukraine will never become part of NATO. Blinken is not expected to deliver that to Lavrov. But the two men did agree to talk - said it made sense to meet. So that's a good sign, at least, that diplomacy¹³ is not dead yet.

ELLIOTT: That's NPR diplomatic correspondent Michele Kelemen, traveling with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Ukraine today.

Thanks so much, Michele.

KELEMEN: Thank you, Debbie.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 pretext   

n.借口，托词

参考例句：

• He used his headache as a pretext for not going to school.他借口头疼而不去上学。
• He didn't attend that meeting under the pretext of sickness.他以生病为借口，没参加那个会议。

3 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。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 contingency   

n.意外事件，可能性

参考例句：

• We should be prepared for any contingency.我们应该对任何应急情况有所准备。
• A fire in our warehouse was a contingency that we had not expected.库房的一场大火是我们始料未及的。

6 escalates   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的第三人称单数 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• As the challenge escalates, the need for teamwork elevates. 面临的挑战越大，越需要团队协同合作。 来自互联网
• I cannot understand why a minor disagreement escalates into a fist-fight. 我真不明白为什么一点意见不合就变成了拳头相见。 来自互联网

7 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

8 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

9 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

10 deterrence   

威慑，制止； 制止物，制止因素； 挽留的事物； 核威慑

参考例句：

• An extreme school of "disarmers" pronounced stable deterrence was a dangerous deception. “裁军论者”中的极端派声称，稳定的威摄是一种危险的骗局。
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。

11 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

12 proxies   

n.代表权( proxy的名词复数 )；（测算用的）代替物；（对代理人的）委托书；（英国国教教区献给主教等的）巡游费

参考例句：

• SOCKS and proxies are unavailable. Try connecting to XX again? socks和代理不可用。尝试重新连接到XX吗？ 来自互联网
• All proxies are still down. Continue with direct connections? 所有的代理仍然有故障。继续直接连接吗？ 来自互联网

13 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。