The Kremlin downplays sanctions by saying any problems will be resolved

The Kremlin downplays sanctions by saying any problems will be resolved

Transcript¹

NPR's A Martinez speaks to U.S. Deputy Treasury² Secretary Wally Adeyemo about the Biden administration's newest sanctions on Russia. Earlier sanctions failed to deter³ Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Putin chose war, and he and his country will bear the consequences - those are the words of President Biden as he announced harsher sanctions on Russia.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: We will limit Russia's ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds and yen⁴, to be part of the global economy. We'll limit their ability to do that. We're going to stunt⁵ the ability to finance and grow the Russian military. We're going to impair⁶ their ability to compete in high-tech⁷ 21st century economy.

MARTINEZ: But earlier rounds of sanctions and weeks of diplomatic efforts by the U.S. and NATO allies have done little to thwart⁸ Vladimir Putin's ambitions. And this morning, the Kremlin downplayed the impact of the sanctions, saying any problems they create will be resolved. With us now is Wally Adeyemo, U.S. deputy Treasury secretary. The Kremlin said this morning that Russia had deliberately⁹ reduced its dependence¹⁰ on foreign imports to protect itself from the impact of sanctions. Secretary, isn't that undercutting what the U.S. is trying to do?

WALLY ADEYEMO: That is undercutting what not only the United States is trying to do but what the world has done. Russia's biggest trading partner is the EU. Forty percent of Russia's trade is with the EU. Today, the EU is implementing¹¹ the most significant set of sanctions against Russia in its history. Yesterday, the United States took a number of steps that were the most significant steps against Russia that we've ever taken. I was here in 2014, and these actions are far more significant than that. They cut off Russia's access to major financial institutions around the world by cutting off their access to the dollar. And fundamentally, despite what Russia has done, 80% of their effects transactions on a day have the dollar involved in them. So these are going to have a significant impact on Russia's economy, not only now but over time.

MARTINEZ: So even if Russia - or since Russia tries to operate their economy with as little reliance on the dollar as possible, you think that this is still going to make a difference?

ADEYEMO: The important thing to remember is that Russian financial institutions, on a daily basis, do $46 billion worth of foreign exchange transactions. Eighty percent of those transactions still involve the United States dollar. These actions are going to have a significant impact on Russian financial institutions and their ability to pass on money to the Kremlin that they can use to fund their military.

MARTINEZ: But Vladimir Putin, you know, is said to have created a massive slush fund to cushion his inner circle from sanctions. And I've heard you say, Secretary, that he does not have a bank account. So how much impact can sanctions have on someone who seemingly has no direct path to his wallet so that it can be pinched?

ADEYEMO: So you're right - Vladimir Putin doesn't have a bank account. What he has is a set of elites¹² who are around him who help to fund him personally. And what we've done and what the president has ordered us to do is to go after those elites, but not only after those elites but also after their family members who they pass their wealth onto and their known associates. So our plan is in concert with our allies and partners to take actions that will constrain¹³ their access to the financial system in order to constrain Vladimir Putin's access to their wealth.

MARTINEZ: Is that why Vladimir Putin is not sanctioned directly - because it would be extremely difficult to do so?

ADEYEMO: I want to make clear what the president has already said - that all options remain on the table. But the reality is that the best way for us to get at President Putin's wealth is to go after the wealth of the people who are around him and also to go after the wealth of the Russian economy. And that's exactly what we've done.

MARTINEZ: These sanctions will not impact payments for energy, which is one of Russia's main revenue sources and important to Europe because of their reliance on Russian energy. Is that on the table still as a way to go one step further if it comes to that?

ADEYEMO: So what the president has ordered us to do is to use our targets - our sanctions tool to target the Russian economy but to minimize the risk to the U.S. economy and to our allies. That's exactly what we're doing. We're not going to take any options off the table, but our goal is to be targeted in a way that has an impact on Russia and, not only immediately but over time, limits their ability to project power into the future.

MARTINEZ: If Vladimir Putin, though, decides to retaliate¹⁴ by, say, turning off the energy faucet¹⁵ to the West, I mean, how ready, Secretary, is the U.S. financially to be able to get by?

ADEYEMO: So over the course of the last several months, we've worked very closely with our allies and partners to make sure that we take all the precautions needed to prepare ourselves for this moment, including working with energy suppliers. And you've seen announcements from other countries that have talked about the willingness to provide LNG to our European partners going forward. And our goal is - our goal here is to make sure that we're in a position where we would be able to not only work alone and take actions against the Kremlin and Russia but to do it in concert with our European allies and partners. In order to do that, we have taken steps with a number of other countries to prepare ourselves for the risks here. And as the president said, they're going - there are costs. But our goal is to make sure that we mitigate¹⁶ those costs not only for the American people but also for our allies and partners.

MARTINEZ: And I think everyone realizes that with sanctions, it's going to take time for Russia to feel the bite of the sanctions. Given, though, how quickly Vladimir Putin is moving, what are you hoping to achieve in the short term?

ADEYEMO: So the Russian economy is feeling the bite of the sanctions today. When you look at the Russian stock market, for example, since the beginning of the year, when we started to make very clear what we would do in response to an invasion, the stock market is down more than 20% coming into this week and even more over the course of the last few days. The Russian ruble is the worst-performing emerging market currency in the world over the course of the last few months, and that was even before this week. So they're feeling the pain now. But the reality is, as you said, they will continue to feel the pain for months and years to come as not only their economy shrinks, but they're cut off from key technologies that will allow them to advance their military and to advance their other industries as well.

MARTINEZ: The president has said these measures will have as big an effect or bigger than cutting Russia off from SWIFT. That's the secure messaging service that connects more than 11,000 financial institutions around the world. Why not just go there, Secretary, and cut that off from Vladimir Putin?

ADEYEMO: As I've said, all options are on the table. Cutting off SWIFT would be a temporary disruption. What we've done is permanently¹⁷ cut them off from parts of the U.S. economy and from the global economy, which is exactly what we're going to continue to do to limit their ability to project power into the future.

MARTINEZ: That's Wally Adeyemo, U.S. deputy Treasury secretary. Thank you very much.

ADEYEMO: Thanks for having me.

(SOUNDBITE OF SHIMON HOSHINO'S "SIESTA")

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 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

3 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。

4 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

5 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

6 impair   

v.损害，损伤；削弱，减少

参考例句：

• Loud noise can impair your hearing.巨大的噪音有损听觉。
• It can not impair the intellectual vigor of the young.这不能磨灭青年人思想活力。

7 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

8 thwart   

v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的)

参考例句：

• We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
• I don't think that will thwart our purposes.我认为那不会使我们的目的受到挫折。

9 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

10 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

11 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

12 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。

13 constrain   

vt.限制，约束；克制，抑制

参考例句：

• She tried to constrain herself from a cough in class.上课时她竭力忍住不咳嗽。
• The study will examine the factors which constrain local economic growth.这项研究将考查抑制当地经济发展的因素。

14 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

15 faucet   

n.水龙头

参考例句：

• The faucet has developed a drip.那个水龙头已经开始滴水了。
• She turned off the faucet and dried her hands.她关掉水龙头，把手擦干。

16 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

17 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。