美国国家公共电台 NPR--NATO meets in Madrid for what the alliance calls a transformative summit

NATO meets in Madrid for what the alliance calls a transformative summit

Transcript¹

In a last minute deal, Turkey dropped its objections to Finland and Sweden joining the security alliance — all but ensuring NATO's enlargement in the midst of the war in Ukraine.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The NATO defense² alliance will be bigger by two.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

NATO leaders are at a summit in Madrid, rethinking how they can best counter Russia's threats in Europe and, obviously, the war in Ukraine. Turkey has not wanted to approve the membership applications of Finland and Sweden. But in a last-minute deal, Turkey has dropped its objections, and the two countries are now on their way to full membership. President Biden, meanwhile, has already been talking with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, outlining what the U.S. plans are in Europe for the next few months or longer.

MART?NEZ: NPR's Frank Langfitt is in Madrid. Frank, what did President Biden have to say?

FRANK LANGFITT, BYLINE³: He said that, you know, since the war began, the U.S. has actually already sent another 20,000 troops to Europe, bringing the total to 100,000. And then he talked about the other things that the U.S. plans to do to be able to deter⁴ Russia - adding two destroyers to Spain, bringing the number up to six. And this is very interesting, establishing a permanent headquarters for the U.S. Army Corps⁵ in Poland. And I've talked to a general in Poland about this. They're very excited there. They plan to work and build a base for the United States. And as to last night's announcement, I think that it's very helpful to NATO because it allows them to present sort of a stronger, more unified⁶ image.

One of the questions, though, is it could take some time in terms of letting in Finland and Sweden into the alliance. And that's because all 30 parliaments of the allies will have to vote on this. But it is seen very much as a done deal, and it has a lot to do, I think, with the optics that NATO wanted to be sending as the war continues to grind on in Ukraine.

MART?NEZ: Frank, these meetings in Europe, the G-7 first and now this NATO meeting, I can't imagine that Russia's too thrilled by this.

LANGFITT: No. It hates all of this, for obvious reasons. I mean, one of the reasons that President Putin said that he sent troops into Ukraine was to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO. So it does seem to be backfiring. And one way Russia seems to respond is by firing more missiles. You know, in recent days there have been increased missile strikes. And many people think it was timed to the summit here and the G-7 meeting earlier in Germany. And earlier this week, missiles killed 18 people at a shopping mall in Ukraine and also hit an apartment building for the second time in Kyiv.

MART?NEZ: Thing is, Sweden and Finland's decision to join NATO was triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. So what do they bring to the table?

LANGFITT: Analysts⁷ that I've talked to say they are helpful because they've also - they've been very close to NATO all along and have worked in exercises, things like that. This is what NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday about the role that they could play.

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JENS STOLTENBERG: Finland and Sweden also brings to NATO advanced, well-developed, well-equipped forces and stable, strong political institutions.

LANGFITT: And, A, I've got to say, you know, Finland has a very large, well-trained army. Sweden has very good intelligence gathering⁸. They also control Gotland Island, which is in the middle of the Baltic Sea. And strategically, this is really, really important.

MART?NEZ: What's happening at the summit today?

LANGFITT: Well, I think we're to see more announcements. I think what we saw from President Biden was kicking off a series of announcement of increased NATO troop deployments to the eastern flank of the alliance. And this is part of a major shift. And, you know - got to remember, since the end of the Cold War, the eastern flank has been pretty quiet because Russia wasn't seen as much of a threat. And I think what we're going to hear is more troops going to the Baltic States. And, of course, Russia will be watching this very closely.

MART?NEZ: And NATO's going to be putting out a strategy blueprint⁹ for the next decade. Anything new in that thing?

LANGFITT: I think you're going to see a big focus on China. President Biden has said while he's obviously very, very concerned about Russia, China remains¹⁰ a big, long-term challenge to the alliance and to the United States.

MART?NEZ: That's NPR's Frank Langfitt in Madrid. Frank, thanks.

LANGFITT: Great to talk, A.

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 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

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 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

5 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 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。

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

8 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

9 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。