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The White House responds to the Ukraine crisis by amping up pressure on Russia

Transcript¹

President Biden has threatened serious sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine, and 8,500 U.S. troops have been put on heightened alert. We examine what this crisis means for the White House.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

The Biden White House is responding to all this by amping up pressure on Russia. Now, after that call yesterday, President Biden and European allies threatened massive consequences and severe economic costs if an invasion takes place. At the same time, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been doing some intense diplomacy² in Europe to try and de-escalate tensions. NPR White House correspondent Scott Detrow joins us for more on how President Biden is looking at the situation. Scott, you just learned more details about what these sanctions could look like if Russia invades Ukraine. Tell us about it.

SCOTT DETROW, BYLINE³: Yeah, the White House keeps framing them as far more severe than the sanctions that were imposed when Russia invaded Crimea in 2014. And we learned a bit more about what's on the table this morning on a call with some White House officials. There would be the traditional kind of economic and banking⁴ sanctions that were used in 2014 and had a major impact on the ruble and the Russian economy at the time. But the administration is also talking about something different - what it's calling novel export controls.

MARTINEZ: Novel export controls. What are those?

DETROW: So the basic idea would be working with allies to ban exports to Russia of products and technology used for advanced industries. So that's areas like aerospace⁵ technology, artificial intelligence, quantum computing⁶ - you know, the kinds of sectors⁷ that Russia needs to grow to diversify⁸ its economy from oil and gas. Another thing worth mentioning is that we are hearing from the administration that there is a real concern - you know, we've talked about it on the show - that Russia would respond to these sanctions by cutting off natural gas supply to Europe. So the White House says that it is in a lot of talks right now to replace that Russian supply with natural gas from other sources if that is needed.

MARTINEZ: All right, so what else is the White House doing and signaling?

DETROW: So in addition to the more specific threats, Secretary of State Blinken was making it clear over the weekend that the U.S. and allies would respond to any incursion, no matter the size. And that comes after Biden's statement during that press conference last week that the scale of the response would partially⁹ depend on the scale of the attack, and that's something that the White House immediately clarified after the press conference because it led to real outcry from Ukrainian leaders. The U.S. government is also making it clear that this is a serious situation, and they're urging Americans in Ukraine to leave the country if they can.

MARTINEZ: All right, let's take a broader step back because all this comes at a time when it looks like President Biden is struggling in a lot of things. So how does this latest crisis fit into the range of problems that's on the president's plate right now?

DETROW: You know, I think if you look at all the challenges that Biden is facing - COVID, inflation, you could even put the stalled bills in the Senate that he's trying to get through - the constant theme is these are all things that Biden has some influence on but, in many ways, are beyond his control. You know, when it comes to COVID, delta¹⁰ and omicron really blew up Biden's COVID strategies, as one example.

So what is happening here - Biden and U.S. allies are threatening major sanctions, as we talked about, and they're still trying for these diplomatic solutions. But in the end, it's really clear the U.S. and NATO do not want to go to war with Russia over Ukraine. Those 8,500 troops on active alert possibly being moved to Eastern Europe - you know, compare that to 100,000 Russian troops. That signals that fact in one way. So many of these deterrent¹¹ efforts might fall flat if Vladimir Putin is willing to take this step, even as Biden warns of these disastrous¹² economic consequences, and that would be yet another example of Biden not getting what he wants at a moment when many Republicans are framing this as an increasingly weak presidency¹³.

MARTINEZ: That's NPR's Scott Detrow. Scott, thanks a lot.

DETROW: Sure thing.

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 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。

3 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。

4 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

5 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

6 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。

7 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。

9 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

10 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

11 deterrent   

n.阻碍物，制止物；adj.威慑的，遏制的

参考例句：

• Large fines act as a deterrent to motorists.高额罚款是对开车的人的制约。
• I put a net over my strawberries as a deterrent to the birds.我在草莓上罩了网，免得鸟歇上去。

12 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

13 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。