美国国家公共电台 NPR--Officials in Ukraine and Russia are talking about negotiations. Why now?

Officials in Ukraine and Russia are talking about negotiations¹. Why now?

Transcript³

NPR's A Martinez speaks to Daniel Fried, former U.S. ambassador to Poland, about the possibility of peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in the new year.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Just last week, any type of compromise between Russia and Ukraine seemed out of the question. Let's ask Daniel Fried what's changed. He's a former U.S. ambassador to Poland, now the Weiser Family distinguished⁴ fellow at the Atlantic Council. Ambassador, why do you think both sides are talking negotiations now?

DANIEL FRIED: I wouldn't hold my breath for negotiations to get started. The Russians have maintained a maximalist position that negotiations have to start with a recognition of the territories they've tried to conquer and don't even control. That's a ridiculous position and an aggressive one. The Ukrainian position is that negotiations start with the Russian withdrawal⁵ and justice for Ukraine, which is a much more reasonable position. But the fact is this war, as Foreign Minister Kuleba has said, will be decided⁶ on the battlefield before you get to negotiations.

Both sides still think that they can, if not win, at least do better. The Russians think that they can wear down the Ukrainians by attacking their infrastructure⁷, which they're doing. And the Russians also hope that U.S. and Western support for Ukraine will crumble⁸. The Ukrainians believe that they can keep liberating⁹ territory. And remember, since the beginning of this war, the Ukrainians have outperformed everybody's expectations, and the Russians have underperformed. So the Ukrainians hope to liberate¹⁰ more of their territory, save more of their people, is a reasonable hope.

I think the Ukrainians, by proposing this U.N. meeting, are trying to get the discussion away from the Russian demands as a starting point and over to their side, which is not a bad tactic¹¹. And let's remember, these aren't two equal sides. Putin started this war for no good reason, and he's not winning it. The Ukrainians are fighting for their lives and their country, and they're doing all right. It's a good investment to back the Ukrainians. But don't hold your breath for diplomacy¹², at least not yet.

MART?NEZ: Right. You called Ukraine's demands more reasonable, a lot more reasonable than Russia's demands. But that would be factoring in a huge ego² blow to Vladimir Putin. So given that possibility, how realistic do you think it is to have those demands met before negotiations happen?

FRIED: Well, you're right that Putin has staked his leadership and maybe his life on success in Ukraine, but nobody told him he had to start this war. The U.S. warned him that he'd better not or we would back Ukraine. The Biden administration was pretty very clear about that. When Russian leaders start wars that they don't win, Russian history tells us, bad things can happen. That's true. But it's not Ukraine's responsibility to make life easier for Vladimir Putin.

They're fighting for their lives. Putin is fighting for his imperial vanity and some vision of Russian glory from the past. That's no reason to start displacing millions of people and killing¹³ tens of thousands. It's a bad and ugly war that Putin has started. And we're right to back Ukraine. It's not charity, as President Zelenskyy told Congress last week, it's a good investment in a world order that happens to be in America's national interest.

MART?NEZ: Ukraine looks to the U.S. for global leadership. You've written that, Ambassador. What part do you see the U.S. possibly playing in all this?

FRIED: The U.S. certainly has reemerged again as the leader of the free world. Whatever we looked like after the chaotic¹⁴ withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Ukrainians look to us, with good reason, as the indispensable nation. And so we are. We're their biggest backer. We've rallied the West. Other countries have joined us in a big way. Poland, the U.K. and France and Germany have done a lot, too. But the U.S. is going to be the key player. That's why Zelenskyy came here last week and not to Brussels or Berlin or Paris. The U.S. role is critical, and I believe the administration has encouraged Ukraine to make clear its terms for a diplomatic settlement, which the Ukrainians have done.

And I think one of the topics that President Zelenskyy covered with the Biden administration is how to make their peace plan more visible. And I think we are seeing the results of that this week with Kuleba's proposal. But we're still in the phase of sparring rather than actual negotiating. For real negotiations to start, I want to see some sign that the Russians have fallen off their maximum position.

MART?NEZ: And you need to see or hear that before you would think that any possibility of these negotiations being productive would actually happen.

FRIED: Exactly. The Russians aren't fools. When they want to negotiate, they know how. Right now - and I've been dealing¹⁵ with them since the Soviet¹⁶ period - they don't want to negotiate. They want to win. But when they want to negotiate, they do know how, and that's what I'm waiting for.

MART?NEZ: Former U.S. ambassador and distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council Daniel Fried, thank you very much.

FRIED: Thank you.

1 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。

2 ego   

n.自我，自己，自尊

参考例句：

• He is absolute ego in all thing.在所有的事情上他都绝对自我。
• She has been on an ego trip since she sang on television.她上电视台唱过歌之后就一直自吹自擂。

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 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

5 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 crumble   

vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁

参考例句：

• Opposition more or less crumbled away.反对势力差不多都瓦解了。
• Even if the seas go dry and rocks crumble,my will will remain firm.纵然海枯石烂，意志永不动摇。

9 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）

10 liberate   

v.解放，使获得自由，释出，放出；vt.解放，使获自由

参考例句：

• They did their best to liberate slaves.他们尽最大能力去解放奴隶。
• This will liberate him from economic worry.这将消除他经济上的忧虑。

11 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

12 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。

13 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

14 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

15 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

16 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。