美国国家公共电台 NPR--Putin reiterates claims he's willing to negotiate but attacks on Ukraine continue

Putin reiterates¹ claims he's willing to negotiate but attacks on Ukraine continue

Transcript²

Russian President Putin has started referring to the invasion of Ukraine as a war — after insisting it was an operation. It's been more than 10 months since Russia invaded Ukraine.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Ten months into Russia's war with Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin says he wants to negotiate an end to the conflict. Or does he? The statement came as air raid sirens were reported across Ukraine. And in the Ukrainian city of Kherson, at least 10 people were reported dead from a rocket attack on a market on Saturday. NPR's Charles Maynes is covering the story from Moscow. Hey there, Charles.

CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE³: Morning.

INSKEEP: Let's listen to the words. What exactly did Putin say and how did he say it?

MAYNES: Yeah, well, context here, of course, is important. You know, Russia has repeatedly said it's open to negotiations⁵. The catch? It's provided they're on Russia's terms. And that really was at the core of Putin's message in an interview on state television Sunday. Let's listen.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: (Non-English language spoken).

MAYNES: So here, Putin says he's ready to discuss some acceptable outcomes in Ukraine but insists that it's Kyiv and the West who refuse to negotiate. And again, more context - Putin's argument for a while now has been that the fighting would have ended - on Russia's terms - if it weren't for Western military aid to Ukraine. Putin went on to say the West was trying to tear apart historical Russia, which, in his mind, includes Ukraine, and that Russia had no choice but to defend its citizens. So certainly, he's coming at this with his own unique perspective.

INSKEEP: Well, let's explore that perspective a little bit more. You've indicated that he's always said he wants peace on Russia's terms. Is he reflecting at all the reality that Russia's military has done so badly, has suffered such enormous casualties? And while they have taken some territory in Ukraine, they've also lost some.

MAYNES: Yeah, you know, to a degree, although not to a point that's acceptable to Ukraine. You know, early on, the Kremlin wanted regime change, a pro-Russian government in Kyiv. That was behind Putin's calls for de-Nazification, if you remember, part of this kind of false claim that Ukraine was somehow overrun with fascists⁶ and needed to be neutralized⁷. But as Ukrainian forces pushed Russian troops back from Kyiv and then other portions of the country, Moscow's demands have shifted to really asking that Kyiv recognize Russia's right to Ukrainian lands it has seized. Specifically, this is for regions of Ukraine that Russia annexed⁸ in September in a move that was condemned⁹ internationally as illegal.

But there's a problem here as well, you know? Russian forces can't seem to hold the territory. And so if you're Ukraine and you keep liberating¹⁰ your own country, why would you sign away anything? That said, there is a debate, particularly in the West, over whether it's realistic for Ukraine to reach its stated objective, the complete expulsion of Russian troops from Ukraine, including from Crimea, which Russia annexed back in 2014.

INSKEEP: Would you give us an idea of the significance of something else that Putin said, something that Russian media were shut down at one point if they use the word - and now Putin is using the word, war, for the special military operation. What's going on?

MAYNES: Yeah. You know, ever since the beginning of the conflict, there's been this strange semantic game going on here. You know, the Kremlin, as you know, banned the use of the word war by the media, even shutting down some media over it, and insisted it was conducting a special military operation in Ukraine. And the reason for that term is this, it implied the military campaign was limited in scope, with limited sacrifice for the Russian people. And yet here we are, 10 months later, and Putin finally publicly said Russia wanted, quote, "the war" to end soon. Now, like his negotiation⁴ offer, it came with charges the West was trying to prolong the conflict. But the use of the word itself is significant and that it was a small nod to growing discomfort¹¹ at home over a war that has gone on far longer than promised or planned and at enormous cost not only to Ukrainians, but Russians as well.

INSKEEP: NPR's Charles Maynes listening to what Putin said and also to what it may mean. Charles, thanks as always.

MAYNES: Thank you.

1 reiterates   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The Chinese government reiterates that the question of Taiwan is China's internal affair. 中国政府重申，台湾问题是中国的内政。 来自汉英非文学 - 汉英文件
• Wang Jianzhou reiterates a fact and a viewpoint in Davos. 王建宙在达沃斯重申一个事实和一个观点。

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 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

5 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

6 fascists   

n.法西斯主义的支持者( fascist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists. 老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 neutralized   

v.使失效( neutralize的过去式和过去分词 )；抵消；中和；使（一个国家）中立化

参考例句：

• Acidity in soil can be neutralized by spreading lime on it. 土壤的酸性可以通过在它上面撒石灰来中和。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This strategy effectively neutralized what the Conservatives had hoped would be a vote-winner. 这一策略有效地冲淡了保守党希望在选举中获胜的心态。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 annexed   

[法] 附加的，附属的

参考例句：

• Germany annexed Austria in 1938. 1938年德国吞并了奥地利。
• The outlying villages were formally annexed by the town last year. 那些偏远的村庄于去年正式被并入该镇。

9 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

10 liberating   

解放，释放( liberate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Revolution means liberating the productive forces. 革命就是为了解放生产力。
• They had already taken on their shoulders the burden of reforming society and liberating mankind. 甚至在这些集会聚谈中，他们就已经夸大地把改革社会、解放人群的责任放在自己的肩头了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

11 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。