VOA慢速英語:美俄關(guān)系跌至新低

[00:00.00]From VOA Learning English, this is In The News. [00:08.42]The crisis in Ukraine has hurt relations [00:12.41]between the United States and Russia. [00:14.71]Evidence of this came recently [00:17.90]when U.S. and Russian officials [00:20.75]spoke at the United Nations. [00:23.26]President Barack Obama said [00:27.24]the international community must urgently face [00:30.39]what he called "Russian aggression in Europe." [00:33.79]He was talking about Russia's occupation of Crimea [00:38.28]and support for Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. [00:42.63]The Russian government denies providing such support. [00:47.32]Mr. Obama compared Russia's moves in Ukraine [00:51.25]to two other issues: [00:53.31]the spread of the Ebola virus, [00:55.91]and what he called [00:57.35]"the brutality of terrorists in Syria and Iraq." [01:01.33]Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov [01:05.42]also spoke at the UN. [01:07.67]He accused the United States of seeking [01:11.18]what he called an "arrogant" policy in Ukraine. [01:14.69]And he accused U.S. officials [01:17.93]of attempting to "distort the truth" – [01:20.80]failing to say what is really happening there. [01:24.33]John Parker studies Russia [01:27.56]for the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. [01:32.31]He believes relations between the two countries [01:36.29]are at their lowest level in more than 30 years. [01:40.23]"The worst they've been for the last 30, 35 years. [01:44.62]I think we have to go back to the period [01:47.70]right after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan [01:50.96]in late 1979 and also the Soviet shoot-down [01:55.81]of the Korean airliner in 1983 [01:58.53]to find a period where relations have been so bad." [02:02.83]The relationship was very different [02:05.31]at the beginning of the Obama administration. [02:08.19]The improved ties resulted in [02:11.49]a major arms control agreement. [02:13.79]Under the treaty, [02:15.75]the two sides agreed to reduce long-range nuclear weapons. [02:20.49]Other examples of cooperation included Russia [02:25.81]taking a firm position with Iran [02:28.72]over its suspected nuclear weapons program. [02:32.05]Russia also agreed to let the U.S. military [02:35.68]pass through Russian territory [02:38.12]on its way to and from Afghanistan. [02:41.36]This is an important step [02:44.17]as the military reduces its force in the country. [02:48.31]But observers say relations have worsened [02:52.59]over the past few years. [02:54.30]One reason is Russia's strong support [02:57.98]for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. [03:00.88]Another is Russia's decision [03:04.02]to let American Edward Snowden [03:06.43]spend three years in the country. [03:09.10]The former intelligence contract worker [03:13.16]is accused of leaking U.S. government documents. [03:16.40]And another issue is Russia's actions in Ukraine. [03:21.93]They have led the United States and European Union [03:26.22]to approve economic sanctions against Russia. [03:29.81]Stephen Jones is with Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. [03:35.56]He thinks the two sides could cooperate in some areas, [03:41.18]such as the struggle against Islamic State militants. [03:45.86]"Here is somewhere where clearly Russia and the United States [03:50.01]have common interests in trying to prevent [03:52.60]the Islamic State's spread into other regions. [03:56.50]Russia must be concerned about this [03:58.86]and what might happen in Central Asia [04:00.81]with the rise of this sort of Islamic fundamentalism." [04:04.05]But other observers see little [04:06.00]if any chance of cooperation in that area. [04:09.19]Matthew Rojansky is with the Woodrow Wilson [04:13.34]International Center for Scholars in Washington. [04:16.89]"The whole premise of Putin's foreign policy [04:19.68]is he doesn't follow anyone, much less America." [04:21.91]And many experts say [04:23.96]they do not expect the relationship [04:26.27]between Russia and the United States [04:28.36]to change over the next few years. [04:31.25]Those observers include John Parker [04:35.19]of the National Defense University. [04:37.38]"Whoever is the next U.S. president [04:39.98]is still going to have a lot of problems [04:43.56]in dealing with Russia, [04:46.77]and likewise Russia with the U.S. [04:48.42]I actually see a fairly prolonged ‘Cold War-ish' period [04:54.80]ahead of us that is going to extend deep into certainly [05:00.02]the first term of [05:01.12]whoever follows President Obama in the White House. [05:04.38]And on the other side, of course, [05:06.06]there is no sign [05:07.32]that Putin is ever going to leave the Kremlin. [05:09.85]So on that side, it's not going to change. [05:13.72]Putin is not going to change his political spots." [05:16.47]Observers also note a lot of distrust [05:19.91]between the two sides. [05:21.26]In fact, they say, [05:23.35]there is so much that it would prevent [05:26.09]any kind of forward movement in the relationship. [05:29.18]And that's In The News from VOA Learning English. [05:34.57]I'm Mario Ritter.

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