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　　The Obama administration confirms it is sending a U.S. ambassador to Syria after a four-year absence. The last U.S. ambassador in Damascus was withdrawn¹ in 2005 after the Beirut assassination² of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
奥巴马政府证实，在叙利亚大使一职空缺四年之后，重新派遣美国驻叙利亚大使。在黎巴嫩前总理哈里里在贝鲁特被暗杀后，上一位美国驻大马士革大使在2005年被召回美国。
The decision to return a full-fledged ambassador to Damascus follows a series of visits to Syria by senior officials of the Obama administration, which came into office early this year offering dialogue with the sometimes U.S. adversary³.
奥巴马政府在派遣高级官员对叙利亚进行一系列访问之后，做出了重新派遣掌管全面事务的驻大马士革大使的决定。今年年初上台的奥巴马政府提出和叙利亚进行对话，叙利亚有时候是美国的对手。
State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly said the decision was conveyed on Tuesday to the Syrian government.
美国国务部发言人凯利说，这项决定星期二传达给了叙利亚政府。
He said the administration continues to have concerns about aspects of Syrian behavior, but believes U.S. interests can best be advanced by a fully-normal relationship with Damascus.
他说，美国政府对叙利亚一些方面的行为仍然感到关切，但他认为美国与大马士革的关系完全正常对美国最有利。
"Yesterday we informed the Syrian charge d'affaires in Washington and our charge d'affaires in Damascus informed the ministry⁴ of foreign affairs in Damascus of the administration's decision to return an ambassador to Syria," Kelly said. "This decision reflects the administration's recognition of the important role Syria plays in the region. And of course we hope they will continue to play such a constructive⁵ role to promote peace and stability in the region."
凯利说：“昨天，我们通知叙利亚在华盛顿的临时代办，我们在大马士革的临时代办也通知了大马士革政府外交部，美国决定向叙利亚重新派驻大使。 这一决定反映了美国政府承认叙利亚在该地区发挥的重要作用。当然，我们也希望他们继续发挥建设性的作用，以促进该地区的和平与稳定。”
The United States has been critical of Damascus for, among other things, supporting regional extremists and facilitating the transit⁶ of would-be terrorists through its territory to Iraq.
美国一直对大马士革支持地区极端分子和使潜在的恐怖分子能轻松通过其领土到达伊拉克持批评态度。
But senior U.S. officials, including American military commanders in Iraq, have in recent months credited Syria with better border controls that have reduced the extremist traffic to a relative trickle⁷.
但是，包括在伊拉克的军事指挥官在内的美国高级官员，赞扬叙利亚近几个月进行了更严格的边境管制，使极端分子过境的数量减少到寥寥无几。
After an initial State Department visit by Syria's chief diplomat⁸ in Washington in February, the administration twice dispatched Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and White House National Security Council Middle East chief Daniel Shapiro to Damascus for exploratory talks.
在今年2月叙利亚外交部长在华盛顿初次访问了美国国务院之后，美国政府两次派遣国务院负责近东事务的代理助理国务卿杰弗里.费特曼和国家安全委员会负责中东问题的丹尼尔.夏皮罗到大马士革进行试探性会谈。
A U.S. military team went there late last month to discuss the stabilization⁹ of Iraq. And U.S. Middle East envoy¹⁰ George Mitchell met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus two weeks ago for what Mitchell said were serious and productive discussions.
美国一个军事小组上个月底前往大马士革，讨论稳定伊拉克局势的问题。美国中东特使乔治·米切尔两个星期前会见了叙利亚总统，他说他们进行了认真的富有成效的讨论。
Mitchell has stressed that his objective is not just an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord but a broader Middle East settlement that includes peace between Israel and Syria.
米切尔强调说，他的目标不仅限于以色列和巴勒斯坦达成和平协议，也是解决更广泛的中东问题，其中包括以色列和叙利亚之间实现和平的问题。
Spokesman Kelly gave no time frame for the arrival of a new U.S. envoy in Syria, who would have to be nominated by the White House and approved by the Senate.
Margaret Scobey, the previous U.S. envoy to Syria, is now the American ambassador to Egypt.
She was withdrawn in 2005 after the car-bomb assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, in which Syrian officials were implicated¹¹ by investigators¹². Syria denies involvement.
Syria continues to be listed by the State Department as a state sponsor of terrorism.