VOA标准英语2014--新国会可能会推动奥巴马对乌克兰采取更强硬的措施

 

New Congress Could Push Obama Toward Tougher Action on Ukraine 新国会可能会推动奥巴马对乌克兰采取更强硬的措施

STATE DEPARTMENT— 

The Obama administration says sanctions against those backing separatists in eastern Ukraine are having an impact on the Russian economy, but the coming change of legislative¹ power in Washington may affect U.S. policy toward the crisis.

Ukrainian forces fighting Russian-backed separatists are looking for more help from Europe and the United States at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin may see President Barack Obama as weakened by electoral losses, the Atlantic Council’s Robert Manning said.

“We know, for example in the Ukraine, Putin looks like he is trying to strengthen his position in eastern Ukraine and break away Donetsk from the rest of the country, and he might be more encouraged to do that,” Manning said.

Putin faced little criticism on Ukraine at a meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders in Beijing, in part because of what former Putin adviser² Andrei Illarianov, now a research fellow at the Cato Institute, called a “tactical pause” in the Russian offensive.

“This is partly the result of elections in the U.S. Congress and partly connected to Putin’s visit to Asia," he said. "It was probably a decision that escalating³ the conflict would create a bad atmosphere during Putin’s meetings with international leaders.  But then after this visit, we will see an escalation⁴.”

Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona, who is in line to chair the Senate Armed Services Committee, has been pushing Obama to take a harder line against Moscow. This could help the president, said Keith Darden, an associate professor in the School of International Service at American University in Washington.

"In some ways, it increases President Obama’s leverage⁵ in his negotiations⁶ with the Russians, to the extent that those exist, because basically there is always a threat that Congress is going to act on its own,” Darden said.

Eric Rubin, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said there is broad, bipartisan support for how to move forward on Ukraine.

“The key question is does Ukraine need help rebuilding its military and its national security infrastructure," Rubin said. "The answer is yes. And are we committed to helping⁷ them? Yes, we are, very publicly. There has been a significant amount of assistance. There will be more. The question is what, and that is the debate that is going on now.”

In that debate, the installation of new leaders in Ukraine’s breakaway regions could help fuel a Republican drive for stronger U.S. action, including sending weapons.

“If Congress gets involved," Darden said, "not only is it probably going to be more severe, including military aid and maybe some economic aid, it might be more significant sanctions on Russia, and they are much harder to undo⁸.”

Prospects⁹ for tougher sanctions will be part of European Union talks in Brussels on Monday, said EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

“There will be a discussion there," Mogherini said, "but I would say not just on whether to increase the sanctions but most of all how to support Ukraine in these difficult times — difficult because of security on its territory.”

That security is threatened by troop movements along the Russian border, which German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warns could lead to violent confrontations¹⁰.

1 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

2 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

3 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

4 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

5 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

6 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。

7 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。

8 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

9 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

10 confrontations   

n.对抗，对抗的事物( confrontation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At times, this potential has escalated into actual confrontations. 有时，这一矛盾升级为实际的对抗。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• These confrontations and uncertainties were bing played out for the first time on a global scale. 所有这一切对抗和不稳定，第一次在全球范围内得到充分的表演。 来自辞典例句