Diplomats are trying to find an off ramp to Putin's war in Ukraine

Diplomats¹ are trying to find an off ramp² to Putin's war in Ukraine

Transcript³

Can anyone talk Russian President Putin out of his war in Ukraine? French President Macron and Israeli Prime Minister Bennett are trying. The U.S. says it gave Putin off ramps⁴ before the invasion.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Ideally, the world leaders who keep talking with Russia's president would offer some diplomatic off-ramp - some way that Russia could give up its attack on Ukraine without too much humiliation⁵. Failing that, could Russia at least find a way to let civilians⁶ escape the cities that Russian troops are shelling? French President Emmanuel Macron is trying, and so is Israel's prime minister, Naftali Bennett. The United States says it offered off-ramps before the invasion and now must focus on sanctions and pressure. NPR's Michele Kelemen has been tracking the work of diplomats.

MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE⁷: The Biden administration says Vladimir Putin miscalculated with his war in Ukraine, and he had another path. The U.S. offered talks on European security and arms control, but Washington never agreed to talk about core Russian demands, including neutrality for Ukraine, says Anatol Lieven of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.

ANATOL LIEVEN: Given that we never intended to fight for Ukraine and haven't fought for Ukraine - you know, the administration has just turned down a no-fly zone - I think people in the future will be extremely bewildered about why we couldn't offer a treaty of neutrality.

KELEMEN: Lieven still thinks the only way out of this war is for Ukraine to give up its ambitions to join NATO, since that has long been a Russian red line. But Angela Stent of the Brookings Institution says this is about much more than NATO.

ANGELA STENT: This is about Russia wanting to restore a sphere of influence in the post-Soviet space, and particularly about Putin wanting Russia to reabsorb Ukraine. And I'm not sure whether, you know, if Ukraine had said it was going to be neutral, that really would have made any difference because these have been Putin's designs for a number of years.

KELEMEN: And she doesn't think Putin can be talked out of that. So her advice is keep imposing⁸ sanctions and reinforce NATO's eastern flank to make sure Russia doesn't go further and provoke a larger conflict. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited three Baltic states this week, calling for an end to, as he puts it, Russia's war of choice in Ukraine.

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ANTONY BLINKEN: And what we don't want to do is to widen it and to widen it to our own countries, to our own territory.

KELEMEN: In Riga, he met with Israel's foreign minister to talk about that country's efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Blinken says he supports this diplomacy⁹.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BLINKEN: Consistent, of course, with the principles that we've all established, starting with the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people who must have their sovereignty, their independence and their territorial¹⁰ integrity.

KELEMEN: But the war has changed the game on the ground, says Sergey Radchenko, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Russia doesn't just want a neutral Ukraine. It's also demanding that Ukraine formally give up Crimea and parts of the Donbas.

SERGEY RADCHENKO: In cases like this, the negotiated middle ground looks extremely ugly and extremely inelegant. And I think what we'll ultimately arrive at is something that satisfies no one but at least is better than a hot war.

KELEMEN: Particularly given Russia's recent history. When Putin first came to power, his forces leveled the Chechen capital, Grozny, in order to recapture it. And more recently, Russian forces helped the Syrian government besiege¹¹ cities and towns, a strategy now playing out in Ukraine. The war has sparked some protests inside of Russia, but Radchenko doesn't expect a popular uprising in a country that is reimposing an Iron Curtain. Plus, he says, many Russians buy into Putin's propaganda.

RADCHENKO: People cannot accept that their country can actually be involved in the hideous¹² criminal war against neighboring country. This is such a difficult thought to square. I have actually spoken to people in Russia, including my own relatives, and I have had a hard time convincing them that Russia is actually invading Ukraine.

KELEMEN: He's also having a hard time imagining any of Putin's advisers¹³ toppling the Kremlin leader, as some in Washington are suggesting. Anatol Lieven of the Quincy Institute says regime change in Russia is not a realistic policy goal for the U.S.

LIEVEN: If the Washington discourse¹⁴ is, you know, now about how we must change the regime in Russia and do our utmost to weaken the Russian state, you cannot do that and claim that you are actually acting¹⁵ in the interest of the Ukrainian people because you're not. You are condemning¹⁶ them to an endless war for U.S. geopolitical purposes. There is nothing moral about that - nothing.

KELEMEN: If America's goal is to get Russian troops out of Ukraine and end this conflict, he says that's something that needs to be negotiated. And it would be better for Ukrainians if that happened soon.

Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF THRUPENCE'S "FOREST ON THE SUN")

1 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》

2 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

3 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。

4 ramps   

resources allocation and multiproject scheduling 资源分配和多项目的行程安排

参考例句：

• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。
• He has the upper floor and ramps are fitted everywhere for his convenience. 他住在上面一层，为了他的方便着想，到处设有坡道。

5 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

6 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

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 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

9 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。

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 besiege   

vt.包围，围攻，拥在...周围

参考例句：

• The Afghan air force was using helicopters to supply the besieged town.阿富汗空军正用直升机向被围城镇提供补给。
• She was besieged by the press and the public.她被媒体和公众纠缠不休。

12 hideous   

adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的

参考例句：

• The whole experience had been like some hideous nightmare.整个经历就像一场可怕的噩梦。
• They're not like dogs,they're hideous brutes.它们不像狗，是丑陋的畜牲。

13 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

14 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

15 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

16 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》