VOA常速英语2018--北约帮助爱沙尼亚加强国防部署（在线收听）

Less than three hours by tank across this flat terrain from the Russian border, NATO troops train for battle with the aim of avoiding war. We are here simply taking our part in NATO and we are delivering again NATO’s core business which is collective defense.

在驾驶坦克行驶不到3小时即可抵达俄罗斯边境的平坦地区上，北约军队正在进行军演，目的是避免战争。我们在这里只是为了参与到北约的行动中来，我们现在做的事情也是北约的主要工作——集体防御。

You know, we’re here defensively but we’re here to fight and defend should the need arise.

你懂的，我们在这里只是为了防守，不过一旦有需要，我们也要捍卫国家安全，并为之战斗。

It’s a scenario that Europe fears could unfold in Estonia and other Baltic states, once part of the Soviet Union, now frontline NATO members. Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea rattled the alliance and it’s taking no chances. Estonia has welcomed the NATO deployment, officially known as its enhanced forward presence aimed at deterring Russia from repeating its invasion of Ukraine. 800 British troops make up the bulk of the thousand-strong battle group. These soldiers are just beginning a new six months tour.

这样的局面是欧洲担心在爱沙尼亚等波罗的海国家发生的。爱沙尼亚曾隶属于苏联，虽然现在已经是敢为人先的北约成员国。2014年，俄罗斯曾吞并克里米亚，破坏了北约联盟的关系，而现在俄罗斯行事已更为小心谨慎。爱沙尼亚一直都欢迎北约的部署，而北约的部署也有一个官方的名字：增强前沿部署，其目标是阻止俄罗斯重演入侵乌克兰的悲剧。800支英国军队形成了上千支强大战队才有的浩荡之师。这些士兵开启了另一个为期半年的新征程。

Estonia has spent a huge amount of money above and beyond their own defense budget to enable this NATO deployment. So we’ve got everything that we need and of course NATO’s strategy when dealing with Russia is a twin truck approach. It’s showing strength and being prepared to enact our collective defense. But it’s dialogue at the same time and so we like everybody else await the outcomes of what happens in Helsinki. Helsinki lies just two hours by ferry across the Baltic.

爱沙尼亚为了让北约部署的顺利进行，豪掷远高于本国国防预算的巨额经费。所以我们已经万事俱备了，就连北约战略部署的东风也有了，毕竟对付俄罗斯不是简单的事儿。俄罗斯一直在炫耀实力，也准备好应对我们的集体防守。与此同时，对话也是有可能的，所以我们希望各方能静候赫尔辛基会谈的结果。乘坐渡轮的话，赫尔辛基距离波罗的海只有2小时的距离。

Monday’s meeting is making Estonia and many other NATO allies nervous, because there is always the element of unpredictability there, which the monopoly of which belonged sometimes ago to Putin but now it certainly belongs to Trump. The Russian expectations could be higher than from the American sites. Surely they would expect a propaganda victory.

周一的会晤让爱沙尼亚等北约盟友神经紧绷，因为会场之上总是会有难以预料的事情发生。以前，那里有时候由俄罗斯说了算，但现在显然是美国一家独大。俄罗斯的期望肯定比在美国开会更高，当然俄罗斯会希望通过造势取胜。

As the geopolitics plays out between NATO and Russia between President Trump and President Putin, here on the ground in Estonia just 140 kilometers from the Russian border, NATO’s footprint is expanding fast. President Trump says the Helsinki summit could reset relations with Moscow. Just across the Baltic Sea, NATO troops are sending a clear message that the Alliance is prepared for any outcome.

一边是北约与俄罗斯、特朗普与普京之间地缘政治的角力，另一边，在距离俄罗斯边境仅140公里的爱沙尼亚，北约的影响范围迅速扩大。特朗普总统表示，赫尔辛基峰会可能会颠覆美俄关系。北约军队跨国波罗的海传达了一个明确的讯息：北约都不惧任何结果。