7月21日VOA聽力：馬航變亂仍影響烏克蘭危急
LONDON— A year after 298 people died whenRussian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraineallegedly shot down a Malaysian passenger jeton July 17, 2014, the tragic incident still hangsover the ongoing conflict.
The Malaysia Airlines jumbo jet was on a routine flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur,when a missile turned it into burned out wreckage scattered across farm fields in a separatist-controlled area.
The passengers and crew members from 10 countries became victims of a conflict they hadnothing to do with. Their deaths did not end the war, but they did change it.
“I believe that it was an important turning point, because it rallied all Europeans behind anescalation of the sanctions.”
Experts reached via Skype said European countries had been reluctant to confront Russiaover its role in eastern Ukraine, but that changed when the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 wentdown.
“The tragedy really did influence everyone’s thinking on how we could sort of go further withRussia.”
The sanctions and diplomacy that grew out of the tragedy also did not end the conflict, butthey may have helped prevent a further escalation.
“This, I think, explains why the situation now is not ideal, but it has not yet escalated further,”Sagramoso says.
Negotiations in Minsk, spearheaded by the French and German leaders, led to a shaky cease-fire. But Western and Ukrainian officials say Russia continues to supply and train the rebels.
“You are seeing now that Russia itself may not know actually how to get out of this situation,”Lain says.
Some say the situation in eastern Ukraine is a "frozen conflict," but others warn it could flareup again easily.
"If there is another accident of any sort involving civilians on either side, of the kind we saw withthe Boeing aircraft, then we might see a significant escalation and a significant change."
點擊下一頁檢察譯文
市場價：HK$ 92
