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President Bush has accepted an invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin to travel to Russia for talks April 6 on missile defense¹. The hastily arranged meeting will come at the end of a European tour that will also take Mr. Bush to Ukraine, Croatia and the NATO summit in Romania.

布什总统接受俄罗斯总统普京的邀请，将在4月6号前往俄罗斯谈论导弹防御问题。这次匆忙安排的会见将在布什总统欧洲之行的末尾举行，布什总统这次赴欧洲将前往乌克兰和克罗地亚，并参加在罗马尼亚举行的北约组织峰会。

President Bush will confer with President Putin in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi. It is likely to be their final meeting as heads of state.

布什总统将在黑海渡假胜地的索契市与普京总统会谈。这很可能是两位领导人作为国家元首的最后一次会面。

With a new Russian president slated² for inauguration³ in May, and the American presidential campaign well underway, both men appear to be seeking some final breakthroughs before leaving office. And few issues have created as much tension between Washington and Moscow as missile defense.

新的俄罗斯总统预定在5月就任，而美国的总统大选也已展开多时，看来这两位领导人都在寻求离任前的某种最后突破。而几乎没有任何其它问题能够像导弹防御系统那样给华盛顿和莫斯科带来如此紧张的气氛。

When he announced the meeting in Sochi during a pre-trip interview with foreign reporters, Mr. Bush made clear he had been invited to the Russian resort to specifically talk about the missile defense issue. He said he knows America's European partners will breathe a sigh of relief if an agreement can be reached with Moscow. He said he is optimistic it can be done.

布什总统在他的欧洲之行前与外国记者会面时宣布了索契会谈的安排，他明确表示，自己是应邀前往俄罗斯这一渡假胜地专门讨论导弹防御问题的。他说，他知道如果能与莫斯科达成一项协议，那么美国的欧洲盟国将会感到欣慰。他说，他对达到这一目的感到乐观。

Recently, the president sent Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to Moscow to discuss the missile defense dispute with their Russian counterparts. Mr. Bush also sent a letter to President Putin in which he spoke⁴ of a new strategic framework between their two countries.

不久前，布什总统曾派遣赖斯国务卿和盖茨国防部长前去莫斯科与俄罗斯外长和国防部长讨论导弹防御引起的争论。布什总统还致函普京总统谈及两国间的新战略框架。

The president described his talks in Sochi as a follow-up to the Rice-Gates visit. White House National Security Advisor⁵ Stephen Hadley says President Bush believes now is the time to get together with Putin and build on the momentum⁶.

布什总统把自己的索契会谈称为赖斯与盖茨访俄的后续工作。白宫国家安事务助理哈德利说，布什总统认为，现在是与普京会晤以取得继续进展动力的时机。

"This is an opportunity for the two leaders to meet, assess what progress has been made and see whether we can come together with a framework that can, as I say, consolidate⁷ areas where we are cooperating together, maybe resolve some outstanding issues such as missile defense," he said.

哈德利说：“这是这两位领导人会面评估已取得的进展并思考是否能达成一项框架性协议的良机。我认为，有关框架性协议能巩固我们正在进行协作的领域，并可能解决如导弹防御之类某些悬而未决的问题。”

Moscow is vehemently⁸ opposed to the U.S. proposed missile defense system, which would put a radar⁹ system in the Czech Republic and missile interceptors in Poland. The Russian government says the plan threatens Russian security and could lead to a new arms race. But President Bush has stressed the target is not Russia, and that the facilities are intended to protect Europe from the threat posed by rogue¹⁰ states, such as Iran.

莫斯科强烈反对美国提出的导弹防御体系，这一体系将在捷克共和国安设雷达系统，并在波兰设制导弹拦截器。俄罗斯政府说，这一计划危及俄罗斯安全并可能导致新一轮军备竞赛。但是布什总统再三强调，有关计划的目标并非俄罗斯，那些设施旨在保护欧洲免受伊朗无赖国家的威胁。

Hadley says the administration has been looking for a way to provide Russia with concrete assurances and bring it into the process. "The president has talked about maybe the United States, Russia and Europe should work together to develop a regional architecture - equal partners, if you will, in developing that architecture - that will use resources contributed by the United States, Europe and Russia to provide against threats from the Middle East that could threaten Europe as well as Russia. That is what we would like to see occur," he said.

哈德利说，布什政府一直在寻求途径向俄罗斯提供切实的担保，并让有关计划付诸行动。他说：“布什总统一直说，美国、俄罗斯和欧洲也许应该作为平等夥伴进行合作，发展一个地区性框架，这个框架将利用美国、欧洲和俄罗斯提供的资源抵制来自中东的威胁，而这一威胁可能危及欧洲，也危及俄罗斯。那就是我们希望看到的进展。”

In addition to missile defense, President Bush also plans to discuss proliferation issues in Sochi - particularly, his concerns over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

除了导弹防御问题之外，布什总统也打算在索契讨论核扩散问题，他特别关注的是伊朗当局的核野心。

The president did not say during the interview with foreign journalists if he expects Russian president-elect Dmitry Medvedev to attend the talks. Mr. Bush indicated he will be watching developments in Russia in coming months with great interest, but suggested he would withhold¹¹ judgment¹² on the new president until he has a chance to deal directly with him.

布什总统在会晤外国记者时没有说明，他是否希望俄罗斯当选总统梅德韦杰夫也参加会谈。布什总统表示，他将在今后几个月内以极大的兴趣关注俄罗斯的事态进展。不过，布什表示，在自己有机会与俄罗斯新总统进行直接接触之前，将不作任何评判。