《Lesson one》.doc

Lesson one By VOA07 March, 2014 From VOA Learning English, this is In The News. The crisis in Ukraine continued this week. On Thursday, lawmakers in Crimea approved a measure to make the peninsula part of Russia. The Crimean lawmakers also called a referendum on the issue. The special election is set for March 16th.Sergei Shuvainikov is a deputy in the Crimean parliament. He said voters would be asked two questions: First, ‘Do you vote for the reunion of Crimea with the Russian Federation, as a subject of the Russian Federation? Second, ‘Do you vote for the restoration of the 1992 constitution and for Crimea to be part of Ukraine? The vote in the Crimean parliament came as European Union leaders held emergency meetings in Brussels, Belgium. EU officials want to pressure Russia into recalling military forces from Crimea.An aide to the commander of Ukraines border guards said there are now 30,000 Russian soldiers in the area. That is in comparison to the 11,000 troops that were with Russias Black Sea fleet in the port of Sevastopol before the crisis began. Russian officials have denied the additional soldiers belong to its armed forces.Yatsenyuk dismisses vote to join RussiaUkraines acting Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, was at the talks in Brussels. He dismissed the Crimean parliaments vote to join Russia.This is illegitimate decision and this so-called referendum has no legal grounds at all. Thats the reason why we urge the Russian government not to support those who claim separatism in Ukraine. Crimea was, is and will be an integral part of Ukraine.He also said his government is open to talks with Russia about the crisis.We are ready for co-operation, but we are not ready to surrender and to be the subordinate of Russia.The situation in Ukraine has worsened Russian relations with the West, including the United States. President Barack Obama says the presence of Russian forces in the Crimean peninsula violates Ukraines rights as an independent country.