VOA慢速英語:烏克蘭危機(jī)產(chǎn)生全球效應(yīng)

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Ukraine is set to hold presidential elections this Sunday. Some observers saythe vote is the most important in Ukraine since it became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. The voting comes two months after Russia’stakeover of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. Since then, separatists ineastern Ukraine have declared their independence from the centralgovernment. And security forces have clashed with separatists in a numberof eastern cities.

The events in Ukraine are being closely watched in Europe and around theworld. The unrest has affected efforts by the United States to persuade othercountries to change their policies.

U.S. officials travel the world to build support on a number of issues, from thecivil war in Syria to Iran’s nuclear program. But some observers believe the West’s reaction to the Russian moves in Ukraine has harmed those efforts.

Olexiy Haran teaches comparative politics at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

“How are you going to persuade other nuclear states like Iran, North Korea, togive up their nuclear weapons, in exchange for what? They see that, inUkraine, these guarantees didn’t work.”

Professor Haran notes that Russia was seen as a guarantor of Ukraine’sindependence but then took control of Crimea.

“We expect a strong reaction from (the) international community because itundermines the whole system of security which is in Europe now.”

Ukrainian presidential candidate Petro Poroshenko meets with supporters in Uman, Cherkasy region, May 20, 2014.

The Russian military has been active along the border with Ukraine. ButWestern nations have reacted with “soft power” – diplomacy and economicactions. Around the world, that was seen as weak, says Xenia Dormandy. She is a U.S. policy expert with Chatham House in London.

“That’s a very, very dangerous message to take away because each situationis different. That’s how you get people crossing red lines, because of thatambiguity, and you have potential conflict.”

Still, she thinks the soft power response is not as weak as it might seem.

“Absolutely not! The response will, in time, have significant effects on theRussian economy.”

Some of those effects are already being felt. Russian President VladimirPutin has started to distance himself from militants in eastern Ukraine, at leastofficially.

However, observers agree the Russian takeover of Crimea cannot beundone. And they say the danger still exists of a Russian invasion of easternUkraine.

So if other countries are looking for lessons learned in the Ukraine crisis, itmay be too early to know what they are.

I’m Anna Matteo.