The diplomatic scramble to stave off a Russian invasion of Ukraine continues

The diplomatic scramble¹ to stave off a Russian invasion of Ukraine continues

Transcript²

French President Macron is engaged in an intense round of shuttle diplomacy³ aimed at warding⁴ off a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine, holding separate meeting with the leaders of both countries.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

There's a revolving⁵ door of diplomats⁶ going through Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron met with Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, today at Mariinsky Palace to discuss tensions with Russia. It's the second stop in a short, intense diplomatic trip. Yesterday, Macron met with Russian President Vladimir Putin alone for several hours. NPR's Paris correspondent, Eleanor Beardsley, joins us now to talk about the latest diplomatic efforts. Good morning, Eleanor.

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE⁷: Hi, Leila.

FADEL: So Macron and Zelenskyy met for a couple of hours and just spoke⁸ to the press. Can you tell us what they said?

BEARDSLEY: Well, what I heard were really concrete proposals. You know, you felt that there was more compared to last night, which was all very vague with Putin. You know, with Zelenskyy, you felt that there was more of an understanding with Macron. He was very complimentary⁹ to the Ukrainian president. He said that they had laid out - he said he had been very strong in this crisis, and they've laid out a road map. And they're going to use the Minsk accords and Putin is on board; so is Zelenskyy. And the Minsk accords were put in place in 2014 to solve the war in the Donbas region with the separatists, and they were direct talks between Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany, who met many times. It's been frozen. But Macron said Ukraine needs to recover its territorial¹⁰ integrity. So to solve the current crisis, we need to solve this war in the east. They're going to - France and Germany are going to be the Sherpas, said Macron, to guide Ukraine and Russia through this process, and it's going to start immediately.

And you know what, Leila? During this press conference, you really got a feel for the Ukraine-Russia relationship because at one point, Zelenskyy switched into Russian, he said, to give a message to Putin, and he was answering a sort of derogatory, I've been told, vulgar remark that Putin made last night that passed over our heads because it's been described to me as insider former Soviet¹¹ bloc¹² dark humor. But he answered him.

FADEL: So you said this was very different than the press conference yesterday with Putin. Can you describe that meeting?

BEARDSLEY: Oh, that meeting was just so bizarre. I mean, you could tell by their body language and their summaries. Putin, he just railed against NATO. He just, you know, spent a good time doing that. He said, you know, NATO, you have your guns and troops right by our border, but you tell us we cannot have military exercises on our own territory. And then, you know, you saw his cynical¹³ view of things. He spoke of Ukraine not keeping its promises in the Donbas. And he spoke of Ukraine violating, you know, human rights and closing down media. And isn't that what Putin does? And then you saw, you know, Macron, he seemed, you know, painfully trying to deal with this, trying to put a positive spin on it. It was awkward. I mean, the negotiating table was like a metaphor¹⁴ for these talks. It was so long. The leaders were separated by, like, 20 feet. It looked so cold and uncomfortable. Yeah. So he admitted there were a lot of disagreements, Macron said. But he said geography doesn't change. Russia's in Europe, and we have to negotiate with him. And then he said this.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON: (Speaking French).

BEARDSLEY: He said, there's no security for Europeans if there's no security for Russia.

FADEL: So was there progress?

BEARDSLEY: Yeah, I think there was progress, especially after today. And, you know, the West has been really united in the face of this - NATO, the Europeans, the Americans - prompting one analyst¹⁵ I spoke to, Benjamin Haddad, European director for the Atlantic Council, to wonder if Putin might have been taken aback by that unified¹⁶ front. Here he is.

BENJAMIN HADDAD: I think the real question here is, does Putin feel that he may have got himself into some sort of trap and that he's looking for a way to de-escalate?

FADEL: Now, that meeting took place as U.S. President Joe Biden met with the new German chancellor¹⁷, Olaf Scholz. Do the U.S. and Germany seem to be on the same page?

BEARDSLEY: They are. It may have taken a few weeks to get there, but they are. Biden has said that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline¹⁸ carrying gas from Russia to Germany will be stopped if Russia invades. And the chancellor says Germany agrees with the U.S. on everything.

FADEL: That's NPR's Paris correspondent, Eleanor Beardsley. Thank you.

BEARDSLEY: Thank you, Leila.

1 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

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 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。

4 warding   

监护，守护（ward的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Magina channels a powerful warding magic damping the negative effects of spells. 敌法师用守护魔法来抵御负面法术的攻击。
• Indeed, warding off disruption is the principal property of complex systems. 的确，避免破损解体是复杂系统主要的属性。

5 revolving   

adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想

参考例句：

• The theatre has a revolving stage. 剧院有一个旋转舞台。
• The company became a revolving-door workplace. 这家公司成了工作的中转站。

6 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 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。

9 complimentary   

adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的

参考例句：

• She made some highly complimentary remarks about their school.她对他们的学校给予高度的评价。
• The supermarket operates a complimentary shuttle service.这家超市提供免费购物班车。

10 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

11 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

12 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

13 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

14 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

15 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

16 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

17 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。

18 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。