美国国家公共电台 NPR--Putin picks Iran for his first trip outside of former USSR since the war with Ukraine

Putin picks Iran for his first trip outside of former USSR since the war with Ukraine

Transcript¹

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Anna Borshchevskaya, a Russia expert with the Washington Institute, about the wider strategy of Russian President Vladimir Putin's trip to Iran.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Russia's president has made only a few trips outside his country in the last few years. The most notable to date was his trip to China back in February for the Winter Olympics. Now Vladimir Putin is going to Iran. He is meeting with Iran's supreme² leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. So what is Russia's strategy with Iran and the broader Middle East? Joining me now is Anna Borshchevskaya. She's a Russia expert with a DC-based think tank, the Washington Institute. Thank you so much for being with us this morning.

ANNA BORSHCHEVSKAYA: Thanks for having me, Rachel.

MARTIN: So President Putin's trip to Tehran comes coincidentally right after President Biden's visit to the Middle East. Is there a message here to the U.S.?

BORSHCHEVSKAYA: There is indeed a message. And when it comes to Vladimir Putin, all of these trips carry a certain message. The fact of the matter is, since Putin invaded Ukraine, the fact that he's going to the Middle East - basically this is his first trip outside the former Soviet³ Union since the invasion of Ukraine - in and of itself signifies how important the Middle East is for Putin right now.

MARTIN: What does he want from Iran?

BORSHCHEVSKAYA: He wants to - well, first he wants to show globally that he's not isolated⁵ by the West. So it is in part symbolism. It is in part message. But it's also reality. He genuinely wants to improve ties with Iran. The fact of the matter is, Putin is at this stage betting on the global South, given his isolation⁶. So it's Iran, China, India and so forth⁷.

MARTIN: And I suppose some of this is commiseration⁸. I mean, both these countries, Iran and Russia, now have this shared experience as two countries that are both big oil producers and are both now under U.S. sanctions.

BORSHCHEVSKAYA: That's right. That's exactly right. And in fact, that point, Rachel, in and of itself highlights a long-standing trajectory⁹ of Russia and Iran sharing major strategic goals when it comes to the Middle East, when it comes to the West, when it comes to their shared grievances¹⁰ against the West, their mostly - their resentment¹¹ of the U.S.-led global order, even as they have tactical disagreements.

MARTIN: So this is a meeting - we should say it's a big deal that he's also meeting with the supreme leader, right?

BORSHCHEVSKAYA: Yeah.

MARTIN: But Turkey is there as well. What is Turkey's play in this moment, specifically President Recep Tayyip Erdogan? What does he want out of this?

BORSHCHEVSKAYA: Well, it looks as if they're - we're once again facing a possibility of another Turkish incursion into northern Syria. And certainly that is - that issue is about to be one of the topics on the agenda. Syria is important for Iran and Russia. And, of course, the Ukraine war, again, will stand in the backdrop of this discussion. So that's simply something else to watch out for, is are Russia and Iran going to allow a Turkish incursion into northern Syria?

MARTIN: Just yesterday, Turkey's leader started changing his tone towards Sweden and Finland's accession to NATO. This is something he had originally objected to. What does that say about Russia's influence?

BORSHCHEVSKAYA: Well, it once again - first it - first his - Erdogan's statements highlight the more transactional role that he tends to play when it comes to the war in Ukraine. This comes across as, again, posturing¹² and sort of trying to see what kind of deal he could make in exchange for his support for efforts to isolate⁴ Vladimir Putin. What it also says is that when it comes to NATO and Russia, Turkey remains¹³ a weak link in Putin's efforts to divide the NATO alliance.

MARTIN: You've alluded¹⁴ to this, but U.S. ally Saudi Arabia and the UAE did not take a stand against Russia over the war in Ukraine. Does Putin see a larger opportunity in the region?

BORSHCHEVSKAYA: Yeah, he absolutely does. And again, this has to do with first efforts that Putin had put over the years into cultivating not only American adversaries¹⁵ but also American allies. It also has to do with how allies perceive the war in Ukraine, in Russia.

MARTIN: Yeah.

BORSHCHEVSKAYA: Right? And so where we see things in more black and white terms, they see them in sort of grey terms. And frankly¹⁶, they're not sure how the war is going to end. They continue to see Russia as a permanent feature of allied¹⁷ politics.

MARTIN: Anna Borshchevskaya with The Washington Institute, thank you.

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 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 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。

4 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

5 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

6 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

8 commiseration   

n.怜悯，同情

参考例句：

• I offered him my commiseration. 我对他表示同情。
• Self- commiseration brewed in her heart. 她在心里开始自叹命苦。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

9 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

10 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

12 posturing   

做出某种姿势( posture的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was posturing a model. 她正在摆模特儿的姿势。
• She says the President may just be posturing. 她说总统也许只是在做样子而已。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 alluded   

提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中，你提到了某个阴谋。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。

15 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句

16 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

17 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。