CCTV9英语新闻11月：欧盟峰会 乌克兰问题蒙阴影

Ukraine’s refusal to sign a landmark¹ free trade deal with the EU earlier this week, has cast a large shadow over the EU Summit for Eastern Partnership² in Lithuania.

Ukraine and the EU say the door remains³ open for a future pact⁴ but Kiev is under intense pressure from Moscow to maintain Russia as its primary ally. Thousands of protesters marched through Kiev on Friday, angry at the government’s decision to shelve the EU deal.

It looked like a greeting of old friends - handshakes, smiles, even a photo. For now though, this is as close as the EU will get to Ukraine.

The country’s President Viktor Yanukovich turned his back on the bloc⁵’s last-minute attempts to rescue their free trade deal at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius.
Was it pressure from Russia?

It’s a question no one got to ask as Ukraine’s leader dodged⁶ reporters on his way in.

Despite the snub, EU leaders say the door’s still open.

"The door will also be open for them, on the condition that they themselves want it. It’s not up to Europeans to make the decision for the Ukrainians." Francois Hollande, French President said.

Deals were still signed at the summit, with Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova.

But the main goal was always Ukraine - the bloc offering a landmark agreement to reel in Europe’s second largest country.

Instead of turning west though, Ukraine’s gone east - reviving talks with Russia on a Customs Union of old Soviet⁷ allies.

Yanukovich hasn’t ruled out an EU deal in the future.

But he said the financial aid package would need to be bigger, calling the EU’s earlier offer of 600 million euros humiliating.

The decision to walk away from the deal has sparked days of protests in Kiev. And the tensions are now beginning to boil over. But demonstrators are showing no sign of backing down.

"We will stay until the moment that the authorities change. I don’t want to be with Russia with the Customs Union. I want my children to live in a European country." Dzvinka, Ukrainian Protester said.

Not everyone agrees though.

Barely a kilometre away, these people are rallying in favour of the President, backing his decision to postpone⁸ the deal.

"We are not against the signing of an association with the European Union, but not at any price. The right moment has not come yet - there is a right time for everything." Georgy Bondarev, Yanukovich Supporter said.

Ultimately, it seems they know their future lies with Europe.

But Ukraine’s links with Russia go back a long way, and for now at least, that’s more important.

 

1 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

2 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

3 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。

4 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

5 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

6 dodged   

v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避

参考例句：

• He dodged cleverly when she threw her sabot at him. 她用木底鞋砸向他时，他机敏地闪开了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He dodged the book that I threw at him. 他躲开了我扔向他的书。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。