Ukraine war: US-Russia peace talks: BBC Learning English from the News

From BBC Learning English,

this is Learning English from the News,

our podcast about the news headlines.

In this programme,

US and Russia are in talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

Hello, I'm Beth.

And I'm Pippa.

In this programme, we look at one big news story

and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.

You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode,

as well as a worksheet, on our website, BBC Learning English dot com.

So let's hear more about this story.

The US and Russia have agreed to start peace talks and negotiations

for ending the war in Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the talks are the first step

of a long and difficult journey.

But Ukraine hasn't been invited to the talks and Ukraine's President

Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine will not give up territory to Russia.

So, let's have our first headline.

This one's from the Wall Street Journal in the US.

US gears up for highest profile Russia talks since Ukraine invasion.

And that headline again: US gears up for highest profile

Russia talks since Ukraine invasion.

And that's from the Wall Street Journal in the US.

This headline is about preparations in the US for the talks with Russia.

And we're interested in the phrase 'gears up'.

Now Pippa, a gear, that's part of a car or a bike, right?

Yes. Gears are used in mechanical things like cars,

and they determine how much power or speed something has.

For example, in a car, you use a lower gear when you are travelling more slowly

and a higher gear when you need more power and want to go faster.

OK. So, to gear up, literally, we change to a higher gear.

So we can think about this meaning to understand

'gear up' in the headline.

Yes. US gears up for talks.

It means 'prepare' or 'get ready for'.

Now, we often use 'gear up' when we're talking about preparing

for something difficult or something that requires a lot of energy.

So, for example, you could gear up for a negotiation

or gear up for an important sports match.

We can also use 'gear up' to talk about events that are highly anticipated.

For example, there's a big festival in my town next week and

everyone's gearing up for the event.

They're getting ready.

Now there's another expression with gears that we often use.

We can say that someone has 'switched gears',

and that means they've dramatically changed their approach to something.

We've had: 'gear up'– 'prepare' or 'get ready'.

For example, I'm gearing up for a big test this week.

I hope I'm ready.

This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

Today we're talking about the US and Russia's talks

about an end to the war in Ukraine.

As we mentioned earlier, Ukraine isn't involved in the current talks.

European leaders have also not been included so far.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he won't recognise

a peace deal that is negotiated without his country being involved in

the negotiation. Since the full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022,

Russia has taken control of large parts of Ukraine's territory.

It's unclear whether Russia would agree to returning that land.

Let's have another headline.

This one's from BBC News.

Ukraine end game:

What each side wants from a peace deal.

And that headline again from BBC News.

Ukraine end game:

What each side wants from a peace deal.

This headline is from an explainer article which discusses what

things would need to be negotiated for Ukraine and Russia to end the fighting.

Now we're interested in this expression 'end game'.

Pippa, can you tell us more?

Yes. So, an 'end game', which can be written as one word or two,

is what we call the final parts of a game like chess.

So, it's all about tactics.

So, that's a literal end game,

but we can also use end game metaphorically.

And that's to talk about the final stage in a process,

especially one which involves a negotiation or a dispute.

So in the headline,

by using the phrase 'Ukraine end game', the writer is imagining

what a potential peace deal might be like if the talks are effective.

Remember, these are just the first talks,

but the fact that talks are happening at all is a big change in the conflict.

And we can also use 'end game' in a slightly different way to talk

about someone's aim or motivation for doing something.

So, for example, you could say

'The company's end game is to sell their products around the world.'

We've had: 'end game'

'the final stage in a process, especially a negotiation or dispute'.

For example, negotiations with the workers have reached their end game.

There'll be a deal on wages soon.

This is learning English from The News, our podcast about the news headlines.

Today we're discussing talks about an end to the war in Ukraine.

Now that the US has shown it wants to try and end the war in Ukraine,

other world leaders are thinking about what

peace in the region could look like.

European leaders including Olaf Scholz, Emmanuel Macron

and Keir Starmer have been discussing how to help end the war.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said

that the UK could send some British troops, that's soldiers,

to help keep the peace if a deal to end the war was reached.

But not all European leaders agree.

And we have a headline about this.

This one's from The Independent, a newspaper in the UK.

Europe split over

Starmer pledge to send troops to Ukraine.

And that headline again: Europe split over Starmer pledge to send troops

to Ukraine.

And that's from The Independent in the UK.

This headline is about Keir Starmer's pledge,

that means a promise, to send troops to Ukraine.

Now we're looking at 'split'.

If something splits, it means it divides into two or more pieces.

Yes. For example, if I offer to split my cake with you,

Beth, that means I will divide it into two pieces and we get one each.

Lovely. We can also use 'split' metaphorically to talk

about a group of people who have different opinions.

In this headline, it's 'split over'.

Yes. In the headline, Europe is split over Starmer's pledge.

That means European leaders disagree about the idea.

Imagine them divided into two or more groups based

on what they think – they are split.

We commonly use 'split' when we're talking about opinions, for example,

in politics.

So, the government might suggest a tax rise that splits opinion.

People can't agree about it.

We've had: 'split' – 'divided into two or more opinions about something.'

For example, me and my boyfriend are split over whether to move

to the countryside.

We just can't agree.

That's it for this episode of Learning English from the News.

We'll be back next week with another news story.

If you've enjoyed this programme, try the worksheet on our website

to test what you've learned –

visit bbclearningenglish.com. And you can also find us

on social media. Search BBC Learning English.

- Bye for now. - Bye.