美国国家公共电台 NPR Sanctions against Russia follow its troop movements into Ukraine

Sanctions against Russia follow its troop movements into Ukraine

Transcript¹

The U.S. and Europe aim their economic weapons against Russia in response to Putin's moves in eastern Ukraine. Biden says defending Ukraine's freedom will have costs for the U.S. Gas prices may rise.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

President Biden says Russian President Vladimir Putin has now moved against Ukraine. Biden says the invasion began when Putin authorized² troops to go into eastern portions of its neighboring country.

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PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: He bizarrely asserted that these regions are no longer part of Ukraine and they're sovereign territory. To put it simply, Russia just announced that it is carving³ out a big chunk⁴ of Ukraine.

MARTINEZ: Hours after Biden spoke⁵, Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a meeting set for later this week with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

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ANTONY BLINKEN: We will not allow Russia to claim the pretense⁶ of diplomacy⁷ at the same time it accelerates its march down the path of conflict and war.

MARTINEZ: The U.S. and its allies have launched new sanctions that the White House says are aimed at preventing Moscow from going further. But will these - what will the impact of these sanctions be?

Here to talk us through all that this morning - we're going to hear from two correspondents - NPR's chief economics correspondent, Scott Horsley, and national political correspondent Mara Liasson. Mara, let's start with you. Walk us through these sanctions, please.

MARA LIASSON, BYLINE⁸: The sanctions block two Russian banks with more than $80 billion in assets from doing any business with the U.S. or Europe. They also lock out Russia's central bank and the Russian government from raising any new money from U.S. and European investors⁹. They also sanctioned five Russian individuals, oligarchs and their families. And they worked with Germany to agree to shut down the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline¹⁰ from Russia.

MARTINEZ: Now, in the weeks leading up to this point, the president had said the measures would be, in his words, swift and severe. Do these sanctions live up to that billing?

LIASSON: Well, they're certainly swift. But in terms of how severe they are, the experts are underwhelmed. These aren't the biggest banks in Russia. These aren't the biggest Russian political elites¹¹. And so far, there are no signs yet of some of the new types of sanctions that the White House had been talking about, like banning exports of strategic assets like semiconductors¹² to Russia. In terms of those five oligarchs, they've already been sanctioned. And when administration officials were asked yesterday, why not sanction Putin, they just said, well, all options are on the table. It's unclear how much any of these sanctions will hurt Russia, hurt Putin, hurt his inner circle because Russia has been stockpiling assets, foreign currency and gold, so that they can weather sanctions, at least for a while. Well, the White House says the strategy is just to try to deter¹³ further Russian action.

Here's Daleep Singh, who is Biden's deputy national security adviser¹⁴.

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DALEEP SINGH: They're meant to prevent and deter a large-scale invasion of Ukraine that could involve the seizure¹⁵ of major cities, including Kyiv. They're meant to prevent large-scale human suffering that could involve tens of thousands of casualties in a conflict. And they're meant to prevent the installation of a puppet government controlled by Moscow.

LIASSON: The White House says it's keeping more sanctions in reserve. The president said yesterday more are in the works. They say this is the beginning of the invasion, so it's the beginning of sanctions. If the invasion escalates¹⁶, so will the U.S. response.

MARTINEZ: We're going to bring in Scott Horsley now. Scott, President Biden said that - in that speech yesterday that defending freedom for Ukraine will have costs for us as well as here at home. Tell us what he means by that.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE: The first place you're likely to see those costs, A, is at the gas pump. And price of gasoline, of course, was already one of the factors driving inflation to its highest level in nearly four decades. You know, Russia is a major exporter of both oil and natural gas. Oil expert Daniel Yergin, who's vice¹⁷ chairman at IHS Markit, says demand for crude oil has come back really strongly after the deep slump¹⁸ early in the pandemic, and so far, oil suppliers around the world have not really caught up.

DANIEL YERGIN: Then on top of that, you have this crisis. And so there's a geopolitical premium¹⁹, or call it a fear premium, in the price of oil - an expectation that as this crisis spirals worse, that supplies of oil from Russia are going to be disrupted.

HORSLEY: President Biden has been urging other oil producers, both here in the U.S. and around the world, to boost their production. But in the short run, we could easily see higher prices at the gas pump. And gas prices have already jumped about 20 cents a gallon over the last month.

MARTINEZ: And, Scott, we've heard the impact will be worse in Europe. Is that what you expect?

HORSLEY: Well, Europe is already facing much higher prices for natural gas, which is used for heating and electricity generation. Europe's heavily dependent on natural gas from Russia, although Russia's chokehold is not as tight as it used to be. The U.S. has been increasing deliveries of liquid natural gas to Europe. And Yergin says last month those deliveries actually outpaced pipeline deliveries from Russia.

MARTINEZ: Mara, let's turn back to you. It took a lot of work to get buy-in from European allies on this plan. But let's look domestically now. Does President Biden have political support for this here at home?

LIASSON: Well, he has political support for sanctions. There is bipartisan support in Congress. And voters tell pollsters that they are in favor of sanctions. But there's also some danger for Biden, as Scott just described. You know, gas prices have - are already high. He said yesterday, defending freedom will have costs. We have to be honest about it. He said he's using everything at his disposal to protect Americans from prices at the pump. But that's a problem for him and could affect the support for his moves in Ukraine.

Now, for Republicans in general, their approach to this was supposed to be pretty simple - just to say that Biden is weak. The sanctions are not enough. They were too little, too late. But that's been complicated by the Trump²⁰ wing of the party, which has been either empathetic or sometimes openly admiring of Vladimir Putin. You had Donald Trump give an interview yesterday where he said Putin's move in Ukraine was genius and that Putin was very savvy²¹ and smart. So there are splits inside the Republican Party. But overall, at least at this point, there is bipartisan support for the Biden administration policy.

MARTINEZ: And, Scott, we've talked about the potential impact on the West. But can Russia absorb the sanctions, or will they also maybe feel the pinch at some point?

HORSLEY: Russia has built up a lot of reserves that officials in that country say will enable Russia to weather whatever the U.S. and its allies throw in its direction. One thing you have to keep in mind is that for all of its tanks and nuclear weapons, Russia's economy is pretty tiny, really, and its trading relationship with the U.S. is very limited.

Jeffrey Schott, who's with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, says European countries have much closer commercial ties with Russia. In fact, they do about eight times the trading volume with Russia that the U.S. does.

JEFFREY SCHOTT: U.S. does very little trade of goods and services with Russia. So the cost of a disruption will have a more immediate²² and profound effect on the European economy than on the U.S. economy.

HORSLEY: Over time, of course, disruptions in Europe could have ripple²³ effects on this side of the Atlantic. And the stock market's watching all this nervously²⁴, along with its other concerns about inflation and rising interest rates. The S&P 500 index fell about 1% yesterday. It's now in correction territory, meaning it's down 10% from its peak. That peak was way back at the beginning of January.

MARTINEZ: NPR's chief economics correspondent, Scott Horsley, and national political correspondent Mara Liasson. Thanks to both of you.

LIASSON: Thank you.

HORSLEY: You're welcome.

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 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

3 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

4 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

5 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。

6 pretense   

n.矫饰，做作，借口

参考例句：

• You can't keep up the pretense any longer.你无法继续伪装下去了。
• Pretense invariably impresses only the pretender.弄虚作假欺骗不了真正的行家。

7 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。

8 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。

9 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

10 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。

11 elites   

精华( elite的名词复数 )； 精锐； 上层集团； （统称）掌权人物

参考例句：

• The elites are by their nature a factor contributing to underdevelopment. 这些上层人物天生是助长欠发达的因素。
• Elites always detest gifted and nimble outsiders. 社会名流对天赋聪明、多才多艺的局外人一向嫌恶。

12 semiconductors   

n.半导体( semiconductor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Crystals may be insulators, semiconductors, or conductors. 晶体可以是绝缘体，半导体，或导体。 来自辞典例句
• Semiconductors containing such impurities are called p-type semiconductors. 含有这类杂质的半导体叫做P型半导体。 来自辞典例句

13 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。

14 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。

15 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

16 escalates   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的第三人称单数 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• As the challenge escalates, the need for teamwork elevates. 面临的挑战越大，越需要团队协同合作。 来自互联网
• I cannot understand why a minor disagreement escalates into a fist-fight. 我真不明白为什么一点意见不合就变成了拳头相见。 来自互联网

17 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

18 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

19 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

20 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

21 savvy   

v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的

参考例句：

• She was a pretty savvy woman.她是个见过世面的漂亮女人。
• Where's your savvy?你的常识到哪里去了？

22 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

23 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

24 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。