VOA常速英语2014--北约领导人将讨论俄罗斯和中东问题（在线收听）

NATO Leaders Set to Gather on Russia, Middle East 北约领导人将讨论俄罗斯和中东问题

LONDON—

The leaders of the 28 NATO countries will gather for the first time in two years starting Thursday in Wales, in western Britain, with an agenda very different from the one they had for their last summit.

When NATO leaders last met in Chicago, Afghanistan was at the top of their agenda, and Russia was considered a partner in addressing issues like terrorism and nuclear weapons proliferation.  This year, responding to Russia's annexation of Crimea and its invasion of eastern Ukraine will top the agenda.

当北约领导人上次在芝加哥会晤时，处于日程首位的是阿富汗问题，俄罗斯被视为处理恐怖主义和核武器扩张等问题的合作伙伴。今年，处于日程首位的将是对俄罗斯吞并克里米亚和入侵乌克兰东部的行为作出回应。

The alliance faces a "changed world," according to NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

北约秘书长拉斯穆森表示，北约正面临“已经发生改变的世界。”

"We are faced with the reality that Russia considers us an adversary, and we will adapt to that situation," said Rasmussen.

“我们面临的是这样的现实，俄罗斯认为我们是对手，我们将适应这种形势。”拉斯穆森表示。

That means a greater NATO military presence in member countries close to Russia, like troops in Lithuania, and a new force designed to strike hard and fast in response to an attack on any member.

这意味着北约向邻近俄罗斯的成员国增派军事力量，比如立陶宛的军队，以及成立新的力量，快速有力地应对任何成员国遭遇的袭击。

But NATO has also been clear that it won't go to war with Russia to protect non-members, like Ukraine - drawing a “red line” that Xenia Wickett of London's Chatham House says may be counter-productive.

但是北约也明确表示，他们不会为了保护非成员国而与俄罗斯发生战争，比如乌克兰——伦敦智库的Xenia Wickett表示，他们画出的这条“红线”可能会产生相反的结果。

"One of the things that's going to be interesting not just at the summit but more broadly is whether actually NATO tries to be a little bit more ambiguous with its red lines in the future, which actually gives it a little bit more freedom to act, but also makes potential adversaries a little bit more nervous about acting because they don't quite know when they're going to elicit a strong response," said Wickett.

“不只在峰会上，而且在更广阔的范围内吸引人们兴趣的一点是，北约未来在红线方面是否会更加模糊，让我们的行动更加自由，让潜在的对手对我们采取的行动更加紧张，因为他们不知道他们是否会引发强烈的回应。”

NATO leaders will also discuss countering the threat from the Islamic State group that has taken over parts of Iraq and Syria and terrorized local people and foreigners.  The United States has been bombing the group. And the U.S. and other NATO members have been providing humanitarian aid.

北约领导人还会讨论抑制伊斯兰国威胁的问题。伊斯兰国已经占领了伊拉克和叙利亚部分地区，恐吓当地居民和外国人。美国已经对该组织进行了轰炸。美国和北约其他成员国正在提供人道主义援助。

Afghanistan will still be a topic, as Taliban forces are becoming more assertive. NATO's combat mission there will end in December, and officials need Afghanistan's final approval for an agreement on a future advisory and training force.

阿富汗仍将是北约讨论的话题，塔利班力量正变得越来越独断。北约在阿富汗的作战任务将于12月份结束。官员们制定了一份关于未来提供顾问和训练的协议，需要阿富汗的最终同意。

Even just a few months ago, there was frequent questioning of whether NATO is still relevant in the post-Cold War world.  Such talk has been rightly silenced, says Chatham House director Robin Niblett, who chairs an alliance advisory group.

就在几个月之前，人们还经常质疑北约在冷战后的世界中是否仍然发挥重大作用。领导北约顾问小组的伦敦智库主任罗宾·尼布勒特(Robin Niblett)表示，这样的讨论已被平息。

"This is a summit in which all NATO members and their partners need to step up and start to communicate to themselves and externally and to their publics.  This is a dangerous world, and there is a purpose to this alliance," said Niblett.

“在这次峰会上，北约所有成员国和他们的合作伙伴都需要加快步伐，相互之间，与外部，以及与公众进行沟通。这是一个危险的世界，北约也有自己的目标。”尼布勒特表示。

Experts and NATO leaders hope that the severity of the conflict over Ukraine has convinced people in alliance countries to put more money toward defense, and to fund rapid response capabilities designed to confront new threats to Europe and North America.

专家和北约领导人希望，乌克兰冲突的严重性能够说服成员国民众在国防费用方面加大投入，并提供资金，使欧洲和北美面临威胁时能够做出快速反应。