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New Congress Could Push Obama Toward Tougher Action on Ukraine

STATE DEPARTMENT— The Obama administration says sanctions against those backing separatists in eastern Ukraine are having an impact on the Russian economy, but the coming change of legislative power in Washington may affect U.S. policy toward the crisis.

Ukrainian forces fighting Russian-backed separatists are looking for more help from Europe and the United States at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin may see President Barack Obama as weakened by electoral losses, the Atlantic Council’s Robert Manning said.

“We know, for example in the Ukraine, Putin looks like he is trying to strengthen his position in eastern Ukraine and break away Donetsk from the rest of the country, and he might be more encouraged to do that,” Manning said.

Putin faced little criticism on Ukraine at a meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders in Beijing, in part because of what former Putin adviser Andrei Illarianov, now a research fellow at the Cato Institute, called a “tactical pause” in the Russian offensive.

“This is partly the result of elections in the U.S. Congress and partly connected to Putin’s visit to Asia," he said. "It was probably a decision that escalating the conflict would create a bad atmosphere during Putin’s meetings with international leaders. But then after this visit, we will see an escalation.”

Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona, who is in line to chair the Senate Armed Services Committee, has been pushing Obama to take a harder line against Moscow. This could help the president, said Keith Darden, an associate professor in the School of International Service at American University in Washington.

"In some ways, it increases President Obama’s leverage in his negotiations with the Russians, to the extent that those exist, because basically there is always a threat that Congress is going to act on its own,” Darden said.

Eric Rubin, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said there is broad, bipartisan support for how to move forward on Ukraine.

“The key question is does Ukraine need help rebuilding its military and its national security infrastructure," Rubin said. "The answer is yes. And are we committed to helping them? Yes, we are, very publicly. There has been a significant amount of assistance. There will be more. The question is what, and that is the debate that is going on now.”

In that debate, the installation of new leaders in Ukraine’s breakaway regions could help fuel a Republican drive for stronger U.S. action, including sending weapons.

“If Congress gets involved," Darden said, "not only is it probably going to be more severe, including military aid and maybe some economic aid, it might be more significant sanctions on Russia, and they are much harder to undo.”

Prospects for tougher sanctions will be part of European Union talks in Brussels on Monday, said EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

“There will be a discussion there," Mogherini said, "but I would say not just on whether to increase the sanctions but most of all how to support Ukraine in these difficult times — difficult because of security on its territory.”

That security is threatened by troop movements along the Russian border, which German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warns could lead to violent confrontations.

詞匯解析

moderate

難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞

英漢解釋

adj.適度的；溫和的；穩(wěn)健的；中等的

v.節(jié)制；使 ... 穩(wěn)定，使 ... 緩和

n.穩(wěn)健的人

參考例句

用作形容詞 (adj.)

The team enjoyed only moderate success last season.

上個賽季，這個球隊只取得了中等成績。

用作動詞 (v.)

He moderated his tone when the students burst out in tears.

當這個學生掉下眼淚時，他緩和了他的聲音。

用作名詞 (n.)

He is a moderate.

他是個穩(wěn)健的人

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funeral

難度：3星常用詞匯，屬常用6000詞

英漢解釋

adj.葬禮(的)

n.葬禮

參考例句

用作形容詞 (adj.)

Their cars headed the funeral procession.

他們的車隊在葬禮隊伍的最前面。

用作名詞 (n.)

They held a state funeral in honour of the statesman.

他們?yōu)檫@位政治家舉行了國葬。

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stimulate

難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞

英漢解釋

vt.刺激；激勵；鼓舞

vi.起刺激作用

參考例句

用作及物動詞 (vt.)

Light stimulates plant growth.

光會刺激植物生長。

I hoped my warning would stimulate her to greater efforts.

我希望我的告誡會促使她作出更大的努力。

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demand

難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞

英漢解釋

n.要求；需求

v.要求；查問；需要

參考例句

用作名詞 (n.)

The demand for coal begins to slacken off in the spring.

煤的需求在春天開始減少。

用作動詞 (v.)

All these questions demand careful and detailed study.

這些都需要認真具體的研究。

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incident

難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞

英漢解釋

n.事變；事件；插曲

adj.難免的；附帶的

參考例句

用作名詞 (n.)

The police are connecting this incident with last week's terrorist bombing.

警方認為這次事件和上周的恐怖分子爆炸事件有關(guān)。

用作形容詞 (adj.)

There are many evils incident to human society.

人類社會有很多罪惡。

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personnel

難度：3星常用詞匯，屬常用6000詞

英漢解釋

n.職員；人事部門

參考例句

用作名詞 (n.)

The personnel are not happy to change these rules.

全體工作人員對改變這些規(guī)定很不高興。

For more information about the job, please contact the personnel manager.

要了解更多工作詳情,請和人事部經(jīng)理聯(lián)系。

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illegal

難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞

英漢解釋

adj.非法的；不合法的

n.非法移民

參考例句

用作形容詞 (adj.)

The jewellery firm is just a front for their illegal trade in diamonds.

該珠寶公司不過是進行非法的鉆石交易的幌子。

It's illegal to read people's private letters without permission.

未經(jīng)允許看別人的私人信件是不合法的。

用作名詞 (n.)

The illegals couldn't be admitted by the authority.

非法移民是不被政府認可的。

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