Russia demanded clarity on Washington’s policy on Syria yesterday as President Vladimir Putin held his first substantial talks with the Trump administration following the US missile strikes against the regime of Bashar al-Assad last week.
俄罗斯要求美国澄清其对叙利亚政策。自上周美国导弹袭击巴沙尔?阿萨德(Bashar al-Assad)政权以来，俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔?普京(Vladimir Putin)与特朗普政府举行了首次实质性会谈。
Addressing Rex Tillerson on his inaugural visit to Moscow as US secretary of state, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said: “It is very important for us to understand your position, the position of the US, the real intentions of your administration.”俄罗斯外交部长谢尔盖?拉夫罗夫(Sergei Lavrov)对以美国国务卿身份首次访问莫斯科的雷克斯?蒂勒森(Rex Tillerson)表示：“了解你方的立场，美国的立场，贵国行政当局的真正意图，对我方是非常重要的。”Donald Trump’s election as US president was widely welcomed in government circles in Moscow last year. But the Kremlin has watched with caution as the White House battled domestic suspicions over its growing friendship with Russia and Mr Trump struggled in setting out a clear course on foreign policy.唐纳德?特朗普(Donald Trump)去年当选美国总统，曾在莫斯科的政府圈子受到广泛欢迎。但随着白宫与俄罗斯不断增进的友谊引起国内疑心，随着特朗普费尽心思制定明确的外交政策路线，近来克里姆林宫谨慎观察着事态。The US Tomahawk missile strike against a Syrian air base in response to a deadly chemical attack blamed on the Assad regime drastically heightened tensions with Russia, which backs Mr Assad. The military action triggered fears in the Kremlin of a full-scale US entry into the Syrian war.针对普遍认为是阿叙德政权发起的致命化武袭击，美国用战斧(Tomahawk)巡航导弹打击了叙利亚的一个空军基地，此举大大加剧了美国与支持阿萨德的俄罗斯之间的紧张。此次军事行动引发克里姆林宫担心，美国可能全面介入叙利亚战争。Yesterday, Mr Lavrov said Moscow considered it “fundamentally important not to allow” further unilateral US strikes on Syria. Conflicting statements from US officials on Washington’s priorities and intentions in the conflict have deepened Moscow’s apprehension.拉夫罗夫昨日表示，莫斯科认为“不允许”美国进一步单方面打击叙利亚“具有根本重要性”。美国官员们就华盛顿在这场冲突问题上的优先事项和意图发表的相互矛盾的言论，加剧了莫斯科的忧虑。Mr Putin said relations with the US had worsened under Mr Trump.普京表示，自特朗普上任以来，俄美关系恶化了。“One could say that the level of trust on the working level, especially on the military level, has not improved but rather deteriorated,” he said in a television interview yesterday before receiving Mr Tillerson at the Kremlin.“可以说，在工作层面的互信程度，特别是军事层面的互信程度没有改善，反而恶化了，”普京昨日在克里姆林宫会见蒂勒森之前接受电视采访时表示。The meeting with the Russian president had appeared to be in some doubt as rhetoric escalated between the two countries after the cruise missile strike.此前，由于巡航导弹袭击后俄美论战升级，蒂勒森能不能见到普京在某种程度上都似乎是个未知数。“I will not conceal that we have a lot of questions, given the very ambiguous, sometimes contradictory ideas that were expressed in Washington across the range of bilateral and multilateral affairs,” Mr Lavrov said.“我不会隐瞒我们有很多问题，因为华盛顿方面在一系列双边和多边事务上表达了模糊，有时甚至相互矛盾的想法，”拉夫罗夫表示。Both the Kremlin and the White House raised the stakes immediately ahead of Mr Tillerson’s visit.克里姆林宫和白宫两方面都在蒂勒森访俄前夕加大了赌注。Mr Putin called last week’s poison gas attack a “provocation” by Syrian rebels aimed at duping the US into strikes against the Syrian regime, while the White House accused Russia of helping Mr Assad cover up the chemical attack.普京声称上周的毒气袭击是叙利亚反叛组织的“挑衅”，目的是蒙骗美国，挑动其打击叙利亚政权，而白宫指责俄方帮助阿萨德掩盖化武袭击事件。Hours before his visit, Mr Tillerson said that Russia could be part of a different future for Syria “and play an important role. Or Russia can maintain its alliance with this group, which we believe is not going to serve Russia’s interests in the longer term.”
蒂勒森在抵达俄罗斯的几小时前表示，俄罗斯可以成为叙利亚一个不同未来的一部分，“并发挥重要作用。或者俄罗斯可以保持与这个集团的联盟，我们认为长期而言这不会符合俄罗斯的利益。”Mr Lavrov in turn warned that the Kremlin would not accept ultimatums, and said that Washington and Moscow needed to talk honestly through all aspects of their relations instead.拉夫罗夫则警告称，克里姆林宫不会接受最后通牒，他还说，华盛顿和莫斯科需要坦诚商谈两国关系的所有方面。He hailed Mr Tillerson’s visit as “a much-needed opportunity for presidents Putin and Trump to agree frankly and honestly to clarify the prospects for co-operation on all these issues, primarily on the formation of a broad anti-terrorist front”.他把蒂勒森的到访誉为“一个亟需的机会，让普京和特朗普两位总统达成坦诚共识，澄清在所有这些问题上的合作前景，主要是在形成一个广泛的反恐阵线的问题上”。The Russian foreign ministry said it was prepared for any course of events but preferred to work towards constructive co-operation. not confrontation.俄罗斯外交部表示，它准备好应对任何事态，但希望朝着建设性合作（而不是对抗）的方向努力。It said Moscow also expected Mr Tillerson to explain Washington’s stance on Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan, Ukraine, security in the Euro-Atlantic area, and arms control. It emphasised that Russia was worried the US could launch unilateral acts of force against North Korea.它表示，莫斯科还希望蒂勒森解释华盛顿在利比亚、也门、阿富汗、乌克兰、欧洲-大西洋地区安全以及军备控制问题上的立场。它强调，俄方担心美国可能对朝鲜发起单方面武力行动。