面对乌克兰局势 奥巴马选择不多

Until Friday, the American approach to Ukraine's mounting crisis was designed explicitly to show the U.S. didn't view this as a return of Cold war frictions, but as an opportunity to work with Moscow to stabilize a former Soviet state.

直到本周五，面对不断升级的乌克兰危机，美国的应对措施还完全是为了表明，美国并未将该事件视为冷战时期俄美冲突的死灰复燃，而只是将此作为一次与莫斯科携手稳定一个前苏联国家局势的机会。

That changed late in the day when President Barack Obama bluntly warned Russia against intervening in Ukraine, a stark indication that old tensions are seeping back into the relationship.

但周五晚间一切都发生了变化。美国总统奥巴马(Barack Obama)直言不讳地警告俄罗斯不要干预乌克兰局势。这一强烈的信号表明，两个老对手似乎又将陷入旧日的紧张关系。

'We are now deeply concerned about military movements taken by the Russian Federation inside of Ukraine,' Mr. Obama said. 'Just days after the world came to Sochi for the Olympic Games, it would invite the condemnation of nations around the world.'

奥巴马表示，美国对俄罗斯联邦在乌克兰境内采取的军事行动深表关切。如果在全球运动员到俄罗斯参加冬季奥运会后仅数天时间发生这种情况，将招致全球各国的谴责。

The statement, delivered in a rare late-afternoon appearance at the White House press room, was an indication of the mounting concern in Washington that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be prepared to take drastic steps to keep Ukraine in Moscow's orbit. It sent a message that Mr. Putin should be under no illusions about the damage such steps would wreak.

奥巴马是周五晚间在白宫新闻发布会室发表上述声明的。该声明表明，美国政府越来越担心，俄罗斯总统普京(Vladimir Putin)可能准备采取激进措施来确保乌克兰不脱离莫斯科阵营。奥巴马的这一声明向普京传达了一个明白无误的信息：不应对于此类措施可能导致的严重后果抱有幻想。

The White House had been cautious in its comments on Ukraine. Since Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's overthrow a week ago, the administration avoided casting the revolution there as a victory for the West.

白宫此前对乌克兰局势的评论都较为谨慎。自乌克兰总统亚努科维奇(Viktor Yanukovych)一周前被推翻后，美国政府并未将乌克兰的革命称为西方的胜利。

Mr. Obama's latest statements, like those of other top U.S. officials this week, lacked any indication of what the U.S. would do in response to a Russian military incursion. The warnings did, however, underscore the limited range of available options.

与其他美国高级官员本周的发言一样，奥巴马最新的声明中也未透露出美国会采取什么措施应对俄罗斯的军事介入。不过奥巴马的警告也凸显出美国目前的应对手段有限。

The U.S. has started talks with European partners about what steps they could take in response to Russian actions in Ukraine, including the possibility of the U.S. and its European allies boycotting the upcoming Group of Eight meeting in Sochi, according to U.S. officials.

美国官员透露，美国已开始与欧洲盟国协商能采取何种措施应对俄罗斯在乌克兰的行动，其中包括美国及其盟国可能抵制即将在索契召开的八国集团(Group of Eight)会议。

The U.S. is also considering withholding some trade and commercial benefits which the Russians have been seeking. Russia currently has a team in Washington to discuss deepening trade and commercial ties.

美国也在考虑暂停俄罗斯一直寻求的某些贸易和商业优惠措施。俄罗斯目前正有一个代表团在华盛顿进行旨在加强俄美贸易和商业关系的协商。

The George W. Bush administration didn't move to enact sanctions against Moscow in 2008 after Russian tank columns annexed territories in the Western-leaning former Soviet republic of Georgia.

2008年俄罗斯坦克群占领亲西方的前苏联共和国车臣的领土时，时任美国总统布什( George W. Bush)的政府并未采取措施对俄罗斯进行制裁。

Washington increased financial aid to Georgia in the aftermath and tried to accelerate its membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union.

该事件过后，华盛顿增加了对车臣的援助，并努力加快了车臣加入北大西洋公约组织 (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 简称：北约)和欧盟(European Union)的进程。

European officials are in a similar bind. They are seeking to work with Russia on Ukraine even when they appear to be pursuing conflicting objectives. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy spoke with Mr. Putin Friday afternoon and discussed the 'financial and security situation' in Ukraine, the EU said.

欧洲官员们的处境也差不多。欧洲官员们正希望在乌克兰局势方面与俄罗斯进行合作，尽管他们看上去却在谋求相互矛盾的目的。欧盟表示，欧洲委员会(European Council)主席范龙佩(Herman Van Rompuy)周五下午与普京通了电话，双方讨论了乌克兰的财政和安全局势。

Still, a growing number of U.S. lawmakers and American allies said this week that Mr. Obama needs to do more to directly challenge Mr. Putin and acknowledge that the Kremlin's leader isn't an American partner.

不过，越来越多的美国议员和美国盟友本周表示，奥巴马需要采取更多行动来直接与普京叫板，并承认普京不是美国的合作伙伴。

Not doing so, they said, could lead the Kremlin to take even more aggressive steps to try and shape the future in Ukraine. It also could lead Russia to continue challenging U.S. interests in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

这些议员和美国盟友称，如果不这么做，可能导致俄罗斯采取更加大胆的举措来试图影响乌克兰的未来，还可能导致俄罗斯继续挑战美国在欧洲、中东和亚洲的利益。

'Someone needs to tell [the administration] the restart button is jammed,' said a senior Arab official who's involved in Syria and Iran diplomacy. 'Even on a good day -- without Ukraine, Syria, Georgia, or Iran -- the Russians won't play ball with you.'

一位参与叙利亚和伊朗外交活动的阿拉伯官员表示，需要有人告诉美国政府：“重新启动”的按钮已经卡住了。即使在正常情况下，也就是不涉及乌克兰、叙利亚、车臣或伊朗问题的情况下，俄罗斯也不愿提供合作。

Mr. Obama took office in 2009 committing to a restart of relations with Russia after the Bush administration directly challenged Moscow in its own backyard by aggressively supporting NATO and EU membership for a number of former Soviet republics.

奥巴马2009年上任时承诺将重启与俄罗斯的关系。在此前的布什政府期间，通过大力支持几个前苏联共和国加入北约和欧盟，美国对俄罗斯予以了正面迎击。

Senior U.S. officials have defended this approach in recent days. They cite a nuclear arms reduction agreement signed with Russia during Mr. Obama's first term; cooperation in moving military supplies to U.S. forces in Afghanistan; and a joint effort to rid Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of his chemical weapons.

美国政府高级官员近几天来对奥巴马重启与俄罗斯关系的做法进行了辩护。他们提到，奥巴马首届任期内与俄罗斯签署了一项削减核武器的协议；俄罗斯在美军供应物资运送至阿富汗方面提供了合作；同时俄美还在迫使叙利亚总统阿萨德(Bashar al-Assad)消除化学武器方面进行了合作。

Many U.S. lawmakers and American allies worry, however, that Mr. Putin is using these diplomatic initiatives more as a way to manage the U.S. than to rein in Syria, Iran or North Korea -- all Russian allies.

不过，许多美国议员和美国盟友都担心，普京更多的是在利用这些外交努力对付美国，而不是控制叙利亚、伊朗或朝鲜－－因为这些都是俄罗斯的盟友。

Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, launched a diplomatic process in mid-2012 to try and end Syria's civil war a time when many Western governments were predicting Mr. Assad's regime was close to collapse. Since then, Russia and Iran have significantly increased their arms and shipments to Damascus under the cover of the international peace talks that have been taking place in Geneva, according to U.S. and Arab officials.

为平息叙利亚内战，美国国务卿克里(John Kerry)与俄罗斯总理拉夫罗夫(Sergei Lavrov)于2012年年中启动了一轮外界斡旋。当时许多西方国家政府都预计阿萨德政权即将倒台。自那以后，在日内瓦举行的国际和平谈判的掩护下，俄罗斯和伊朗大幅增加了对叙利亚政府的军火供应。

Moscow also succeeded in getting Mr. Obama to call off planned airstrikes on Mr. Assad's regime after promising to dismantle Syria's chemical weapons arsenal. That process has slowed in recent weeks, according to U.S. officials, and Mr. Putin used the diplomatic process to strengthen his stature internationally.

此外，在承诺销毁叙利亚化学武器后，俄罗斯还成功地让奥巴马叫停了针对阿萨德政权的空袭计划。美国官员透露，叙利亚化学武器的销毁进程近几周来出现了放缓，而普京这借助此次外交斡旋强化了他在国际社会上的地位。

'Since the start of the Syrian civil war, Russia has shown it's complicit in these war crimes, but it is also capable of stopping them,' Sen. Tim Kaine (D., Va.) said Thursday, while calling for more pressure on Moscow to cut off support for the Syrian regime.

弗吉尼亚州民主党议员凯恩(Tim Kaine)周四表示，自叙利亚内战爆发以来，可以从俄罗斯的所作所为中看出，该国与这些战争罪行脱不了关系，但俄罗斯也有能力制止这些罪行。凯恩同时呼吁加大对俄罗斯的压力，以便使其切断对叙利亚政权的支持。

U.S. officials have praised Russia for supporting the international talks currently under way in Vienna aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear program. But analysts have said Mr. Putin's involvement is purely aimed at securing Moscow's business interests and preventing the U.S. from launching any military strikes against Iran's nuclear installations.

目前相关各方正在维也纳展开旨在控制伊朗核计划的国际谈判，美国官员对于俄罗斯对谈判的支持表示了赞赏。但分析人士表示，普京之所以要参与谈判，完全是为了确保俄罗斯的商业利益，并阻止美国对伊朗核设施发动任何军事打击。