美国有线新闻 CNN 俄罗斯与北约在黑海较量（在线收听）

Today we're exploring international tensions with Russia on the other side of the North Hemisphere in the Black Sea.

今天我们将探讨在北半球另一边的黑海与俄罗斯之间的国际紧张局势。

This eastern European body of water is strategically important because it connects through the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean. It's surrounded by Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria. Those three last countries are members of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. That makes them allies of the United States, another NATO member.

这片东欧水域具有重要的战略意义，因为其中海与大西洋相连。该水域被乌克兰、俄罗斯、格鲁吉亚、土耳其、罗马尼亚和保加利亚包围。最后三个国家是北大西洋公约组织（简称NATO，北约）的成员国。这使他们成为美国——另一个北约成员国——的盟友。

The organization was created in 1949 to protect western European nations against the Soviet Union. And in recent years as Russia has made moves to assert its power in the Black Sea region, NATO members have been making moves of their own to assert the strength of their military alliance.

该组织成立于1949年，目的是保护西欧国家不受苏联的攻击。近年来，俄罗斯一直在采取行动，以维护其在黑海地区的权力，北约成员国也在采取行动，以维护其军事联盟的力量。

There've been questions about that strength in recent years.

近年来，一直有人质疑这种力量。

NATO countries are supposed to spend two percent of their gross domestic product on their militaries. But while America has done that, most other NATO countries haven't. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO members for not spending enough on the alliance.

北约国家应该将国内生产总值的百分之二用于军力建设。但是，虽然美国做到了这一点，但大多数其他北约国家并没有做到。美国总统唐纳德·特朗普多次批评北约成员国对联盟的开支不够。

So critics have questioned if the U.S. i?s still committed to NATO. The leader of the U.S.- European Command says America's security commitment's to NATO are quote "iron clad". As a demonstration of that, American planes and ships have been conducting military exercises in the area around the Black Sea and they've been harassed by Russian planes in the process.

因此，批评人士质疑美国是否还会履行对北约的承诺。美国欧洲司令部负责人表示，美国对北约的安全承诺是“铁打的”。为了证明这一点，美国飞机和舰艇一直在黑海附近地区进行军事演习，演习过程中还受到了俄罗斯飞机的骚扰。