VOA慢速英語(yǔ):對(duì)俄羅斯實(shí)施制裁措施有用嗎？

[ti:Will Sanctions Against Russia Work?] [ar:Steve Ember] [al:In The News] [by:www.chinavoa.com] [04:53.45][00:00.00]更多聽(tīng)力請(qǐng)?jiān)L問(wèn)chinavoa.com [00:04.78]From VOA Learning English, [00:08.12]this is In The News. [00:10.37]Russian President Vladimir Putin [00:13.07]has signed a law for Russia [00:15.81]to officially take control of the Crimean peninsula. [00:20.91]The signing ceremony took place on Friday [00:24.46]after the upper house of Russia's parliament [00:27.92]voted to make Crimea a part of Russia. [00:31.86]The lower house approved the deal on Thursday, [00:35.31]just four days after Crimean voters [00:38.56]decided to leave Ukraine and join Russia. [00:43.01]Local officials in Crimea [00:44.87]called a special election on the area's future [00:48.48]after Ukrainian lawmakers [00:50.87]voted to oust President Viktor Yanukovych. [00:55.18]The reported election results were one-sided. [00:59.28]Ninety-seven percent of those marking ballots [01:03.57]chose to join Russia. [01:05.47]Crimean officials announced that over 80 percent of everyone [01:10.81]permitted to vote took part in the referendum. [01:14.62]The Russian president said the vote met international [01:19.35]and democratic values for fairness. [01:23.25]But many observers questioned the results. [01:27.20]Robert Legvold is with Columbia University in New York City. [01:32.54]"If it was an honest vote and all groups had participated, [01:36.78]I would have thought rather than an overwhelming vote, [01:40.14]it would have been something like 52 to 53 percent, [01:42.50]given the percentage makeup of the groups in Crimea. [01:45.65]The fact that it's 97-point-whatever [01:49.79]and they report a turnout of 83 percent, [01:52.79]creates some suspicion that it wasn't just the shadow [01:56.19]of the Russian military presence, [01:58.19]but maybe even some manipulation." [02:00.47]Matthew Rojansky works for the Woodrow Wilson International Center [02:05.57]for Scholars in Washington. [02:08.11]He thinks the pro-Russian officials in Crimea [02:11.47]held the referendum because they expected the results. [02:16.30]"My sense is this was a product of the times [02:19.20]in which there has been a real build-up of fear mongering [02:22.89]and the overt pressure of armed men. [02:26.57]There is nothing quite like a gun in your face." [02:28.27]The United States and the European Union [02:31.42]have described the referendum in Crimea as illegal [02:35.92]and in violation of Ukraine's constitution. [02:40.31]US and EU officials reacted quickly. [02:44.92]They ordered travel bans and financial restrictions [02:49.86]on 28 Russian officials and four Ukrainians. [02:55.10]US officials have described those [02:58.06]targeted as President Putin's "cronies." [03:01.56]Matthew Rojansky says that, for over a year, [03:05.46]Mr. Putin urged top Russian officials [03:09.01]to sell their international holdings [03:11.95]and bring their wealth back to Russia. [03:15.21]"Anybody who has complied with him is sitting pretty [03:18.20]and doesn't have to worry about the international sanctions, [03:20.35]and anyone who didn't - well, it's their problem; [03:22.05]he can cut them loose." [03:23.10]He also believes the current sanctions are not strong enough. [03:27.48]"I don't think Putin believes us. [03:28.93]I don't think he thinks we actually have the guts [03:31.53]to impose really biting sanctions on, [03:34.82]for example, the energy sector. [03:36.54]I think he just distrusts our resolve [03:39.34]because we haven't made it clear [03:41.05]that we are willing to pay the pain on our side." [03:42.85]Robert Legvold of Columbia University [03:45.59]believes stronger sanctions could hurt the world economy. [03:50.14]"Every step that escalates the penalty or the punishment [03:53.70]also escalates the cost to those inflicting them, [03:57.19]imposing the sanctions." [03:58.39]On Thursday, President Obama announced additional sanctions [04:02.74]on Russian individuals and one bank. [04:06.80]Russia reacted to the announcement by ordering entry bans [04:11.74]on nine US lawmakers and officials. [04:15.94]The following day, Ukraine's acting prime minister [04:20.83]signed a political association agreement with the EU. [04:25.48]Observers say it will be very difficult [04:29.07]to change what has happened in Crimea. [04:32.12]Experts also say it will be interesting to see [04:36.46]how far the United States and its Western allies [04:41.11]are willing to go to punish Russia for its actions. [04:45.85]And that's In The News from VOA Learning English. [04:51.40]I'm Steve Ember.

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