After Ukraine, Eastern Europe worries where Putin might strike next

After Ukraine, Eastern Europe worries where Putin might strike next

　　Transcript¹

　　When the war in Ukraine began, many in neighboring Moldova feared Russian troops would attack there next. Eastern Europe's most vulnerable front-line state wants to protect itself from Russia.

　　STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

　　The war in Ukraine is prompting countries across Eastern Europe to rethink how they can protect themselves from Russia, and nowhere more so than Moldova. Like Ukraine, it's a former Soviet² republic. It's not in NATO. It's not part of the European Union. And its leaders are watching the war closely. NPR's Frank Langfitt reports from the capital, Chisinau.

　　FRANK LANGFITT, BYLINE³: Before dawn on February 24, Ion Manole, a human rights lawyer here in Chisinau, got a phone call. A colleague told him, open your window. Outside, Manole could hear the sound of Russian missiles exploding in the distance.

　　ION MANOLE: My first thought was that in Transnistria something started, or Moldova - this part of Moldova was attacked.

　　LANGFITT: Were you scared?

　　MANOLE: Everybody's scared. If someone will tell you he's not scared, he will lie.

　　LANGFITT: Manole's referring to Transnistria, a separatist region of Moldova. Transnistria is home to about 1,500 Russian troops, at least 8,000 Transnistrian soldiers, and has been under effective Russian control since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Manole has won dozens of cases against Russia over human rights abuses in Transnistria. He was afraid if Russian troops invaded Moldova, they'd detain him.

　　MANOLE: We are persona non grata in Transnistria. We have criminal cases against us. So we prepared our luggages (ph) to be able to leave.

　　LANGFITT: In fact, the explosions Manole heard came from over the border in Ukraine. But people here feared Russia might invade because of the way President Vladimir Putin views some former Soviet republics. Alexandru Flenchea served as a deputy prime minister in Moldova's government.

　　ALEXANDRU FLENCHEA: Putin's global ambition is to rebuild, in some shape or form, the Soviet Union.

　　LANGFITT: And Flenchea says the Russian leader sees a nation such as Moldova - or Ukraine, for that matter - as not really legitimate⁴.

　　FLENCHEA: A country that accidentally became a country because of what he called the greatest geopolitical catastrophe⁵ in history - the collapse⁶ of the Soviet Union. So to Putin, countries like Moldova and the Baltic states and even Poland - they are not nations that have a right to be sovereign countries.

　　LANGFITT: Which helps explain why people in Moldova, which is just slightly larger than Maryland, feel nervous. Analysts⁸ here say Putin might prefer Moldova as a pro-Moscow buffer⁹ state between an expanded Russia and NATO. Of course, Russian troops have since become bogged¹⁰ down in Ukraine and seem much less of a threat at the moment to neighboring countries. Moldovans are breathing more easily these days, but the war next door emphasizes the country's precarious¹¹ position. Moldova's maintained a policy of neutrality to protect itself and not antagonize Russia. But Igor Grosu, speaker of Moldova's parliament, says that policy isn't enough and his country now needs security guarantees from big nations.

　　IGOR GROSU: (Through interpreter) I think the notion of neutrality in connection to guarantees will be dramatically changed.

　　LANGFITT: Does neutrality work?

　　GROSU: (Through interpreter) I'm saying that in the form that it's been practiced until now, it does not function. And therefore the new system of - guarantees that the great powers must create a consolidated¹² system, because otherwise, in the current form, it's very vulnerable.

　　LANGFITT: Grosu didn't go into detail, but Iulian Groza did. Groza runs the Institute for European Policies and Reforms, a think tank. He thinks the best way to protect Moldova is to develop an even closer relationship with Europe.

　　IULIAN GROZA: There are a lot of things that both EU member states or NATO member states can do to help us.

　　LANGFITT: Does that mean sending you weapons?

　　GROZA: Not only weapons. It's about all chain of everything, which is linked to defense¹³ capabilities¹⁴. I mean, medical, infrastructure¹⁵, training, equipment, everything. Professionalizing our army.

　　LANGFITT: An army with about 6,000 troops and not a single tank. But Moldova may be too small to survive on its own. Yuri Renitsa (ph) is a former Moldovan ambassador to NATO. His solution? Reunify with neighboring Romania, which is a member of the EU and NATO.

　　YURI RENITSA: We do have their same language, culture, everything. There are no differences. This might be, from my point of view, the best choice. You are joining immediately EU and - but most important, NATO. The EU under NATO umbrella.

　　LANGFITT: Moldova used to be a part of Romania. That ended in 1940 when Moldova was occupied by Russia. But reunification faces big hurdles¹⁶. Only 44% of Moldovans support it, according to a recent poll. And Russia would certainly object if Moldova tried to reunify with Romania, a NATO ally. A third option for Moldova - continue to stay neutral and try not to provoke Russia. Ion Chicu recently served as Moldova's prime minister.

　　ION CHICU: I don't think that we need to buy more weapons to fight Russia. That's clear. And also, many of Moldovans consider that some countries and neighbors of the Russia became somehow interesting for NATO. This is the reason why Russia, at least formally, launched this war.

　　LANGFITT: And Chicu says it's naive¹⁷ to think other nations will come to the aid of a small country like Moldova in what he says is essentially¹⁸ a major contest between Russia and the United States.

　　CHICU: Let's put it bluntly. Nobody will protect us. The biggest country in Europe - and, by the way, the richest one considering its natural resources - Ukraine, I mean - became a battlefield between two large geopolitical powers. That's the reality. It is exactly what happens back in, let's say, in Korea, Vietnam or Syria.

　　LANGFITT: Russia's leverage¹⁹ over Moldova goes beyond its troops in Transnistria. Moldova, which is landlocked, relies on Russia for 100% of its natural gas, which is something that many here, including the government, says has to change. Sergiu Tofilat is an energy analyst⁷.

　　SERGIU TOFILAT: We need to convince our society, which is very divided among pro-Russians and pro-Europeans, that relying on Russian gas - this is not normal. It's like funding the Russian army who kills Ukrainians, which fight for our independence.

　　LANGFITT: Tofilat says developing new energy suppliers won't be easy given the high cost these days, which is especially hard for Europe's poorest nation. But he says it's a price Moldova must pay for its own security.

　　Frank Langfitt, NPR News, Chisinau.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF ALICE IN WINTER'S "DON'T LET GO")

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 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。

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 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

5 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

6 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

7 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

8 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。

9 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。

10 bogged   

adj.陷于泥沼的v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的过去式和过去分词 )；妨碍，阻碍

参考例句：

• The professor bogged down in the middle of his speech. 教授的演讲只说了一半便讲不下去了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The tractor is bogged down in the mud. 拖拉机陷入了泥沼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

12 consolidated   

a.联合的

参考例句：

• With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
• Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。

13 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。

14 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

15 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。

16 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

17 naive   

adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的

参考例句：

• It's naive of you to believe he'll do what he says.相信他会言行一致，你未免太单纯了。
• Don't be naive.The matter is not so simple.你别傻乎乎的。事情没有那么简单。

18 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

19 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。