German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visits President Biden at the White House

German Chancellor¹ Olaf Scholz visits President Biden at the White House

Transcript²

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's visit Monday comes amid criticism of Germany for its handling of Russia's troop build-up along Ukraine's border.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Russia's troop buildup on Ukraine's border will be high on the agenda today when Germany's new chancellor, Olaf Scholz, meets with President Biden for the first time at the White House. Germany has tried to walk a careful line with Russia over the potential conflict, and that's because Germany depends on Russia for energy. NPR's Rob Schmitz is with us now from Berlin.

Rob, Ukraine's ambassador to Germany recently said that Germany was being, quote, "ostrich-like," head buried in the sand. How does the chancellor see a potential conflict between Russia and Ukraine?

ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE³: Well, all along, Scholz has been pushing for more dialogue with both Ukraine and Russia. Germany's been under fire for not sending weapons to Ukraine. Instead, it sent thousands of helmets and medical gear. And this is based on Berlin's policy of not delivering weapons to conflict regions. There have been exceptions to this rule. Germany sent weapons to the Kurds in Iraq and Syria years ago. But so far, Berlin hasn't made the same decision for Ukraine.

MARTINEZ: And is Germany pushing diplomacy⁴ because it needs Russia's natural gas?

SCHMITZ: Well, that's what critics are alleging⁵. But it's important to point out here that this is a long-standing policy of Germany's. And Chancellor Scholz has played a big part in working with the EU and the U.S. to come up with a range of economic sanctions against Russia should it attack Ukraine. Scholz has also said that if Russia does invade, the country's Nord Stream 2 project - this is the new pipeline⁶ that would deliver more natural gas from Russia to Germany and elsewhere - will be on the table, meaning that Germany would halt the project.

MARTINEZ: Now, Chancellor Scholz does not have a - good poll numbers in Germany. How are Germans seeing this issue?

SCHMITZ: Well, there's been a lot of domestic criticism of what many see as a hesitant response to this crisis - one that does not sit well for Europe's largest country and economy.

I spoke⁷ to Sabine Fischer about this. She's a senior fellow at the German Institute for International Security Affairs. She says this crisis on Europe's doorstep was bad timing⁸ for Scholz's new coalition⁹ government, which has not ironed out its own positions on these issues.

Here's what she said.

SABINE FISCHER: It's the first time that Germany has a coalition consisting of three parties. And there are quite a few issues where these three parties have different positions. And, of course, it's very difficult for a new government to have to deal with such a serious and urgent and explosive security crisis right at the beginning of their term.

SCHMITZ: And Fischer says the other challenge here is that Scholz's party, the Social Democrats¹¹, have historically had a close relationship with Moscow. Social Democrat¹⁰ Gerhard Schroder, for example, joined the board of Russian energy company Rosneft after he was chancellor. And he publicly defends his friend, Vladimir Putin. Last week, he actually blamed Ukraine for what he called saber rattling¹². And then he promptly¹³ joined the board of Gazprom, another Russian energy giant. None of this is helping¹⁴ Scholz's image.

MARTINEZ: All right. So what will Scholz try to get out of today's meeting with President Biden?

SCHMITZ: Well, I think both sides have a list of things to talk about - trade, energy and China, which is another topic where the two have slight differences on. I think he's going to want to use this international stage that he's going to get today to clarify what has been quite a murky¹⁵ German position on this crisis.

MARTINEZ: All right. That's NPR's Berlin correspondent Rob Schmitz.

Rob, thanks.

SCHMITZ: Thank you.

1 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

2 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。

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 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。

5 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

6 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

9 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

10 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

11 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

13 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 murky   

adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗

参考例句：

• She threw it into the river's murky depths.她把它扔进了混浊的河水深处。
• She had a decidedly murky past.她的历史背景令人捉摸不透。