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奥巴马访欧面临棘手问题

President Barack Obama leaves early Monday for the Group of Eight summit in Northern Ireland and a visit to Berlin.  The conflict in Syria and U.S. surveillance policies will be among the main topics of discussion.

八国集团首脑会议结束之后，美国总统奥巴马将开始对德国进行首次访问。奥巴马访德期间，叙利亚问题以及美国监管政策也是重要议题。

While the G8 is normally considered an economic summit, this year’s gathering¹ at a resort in Northern Ireland will address the bloodshed in Syria…and whether eight of the world’s most influential² countries can stop it.

尽管八国集团首脑会议通常被认为是经济峰会，但是这次峰会的重点却是如何解决或制止叙利亚的流血冲突。

Russian President Vladimir Putin is the only G8 leader who supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.  He is seen as the key to any G8 agreement on Syria, according to Scheherazade Rehman, the director of Europe studies at George Washington University.

俄罗斯总统普京是八国集团领导人中唯一一位支持叙利亚总统巴沙尔·阿萨德的人。乔治华盛顿大学欧洲研究所主任谢赫拉扎德·雷哈姆指出，普京被看做是八国集团在叙利亚问题上能否达成共识的关键人物。

“Putin loves this kind of stuff," Rehman said. "He is the center of attention at this particular juncture³.  He knows that, without him, no peace deal can be brokered⁴ with Assad.”

他说：“普京喜欢充当这样的角色。在这个关键时刻，他成了人们就关注的焦点。他很清楚这一点，没有他，就没有指望与阿萨德达成和平协议。”

Presidents Obama and Putin will meet separately at the G8, and Syria will likely be the main topic there, too, says James Goldgeier, Dean of the American University School of International Service.

美利坚大学国际事务学院院长詹姆斯·戈德盖尔表示，奥巴马与普京在八国峰会期间举行单独会面，而叙利亚问题是双方谈论的主要话题。

“[The] best that probably could be hoped for is, again, a push for an international conference, at which the different parties in the Syrian conflict would actually attend," said Goldgeier. "And whether or not they can achieve that, or whether or not events on the ground are preventing that from happening, remains⁵ to be seen.”

他说：“现在所能想到的最佳解决办法就是召开国际会议，让与叙利亚冲突有关的各方都参与进来。然而他们到底能否召开这样一次会议，或冲突的现状是否会阻碍各方参加这样的会议，现在还不得而知。”

However, Goldgeier believes the U.S. and Russian presidents can work together on some other issues. 

可是，戈德盖尔认为，美国总统和俄罗斯总统可以一起就一些其他的问题进行商讨。

“They both have a strong interest in counterterrorism.  I think both sides have an interest in seeing that Iran does not develop nuclear weapons.  They have an interest in trying to defuse the situation on the Korean Peninsula,” he added.

他说：“美俄均对反恐持有极大兴趣。我认为，他们都不希望看到伊朗继续发展核武器，也都希望能在缓和朝鲜半岛的紧张局势上有所作为。”

The Lough Erne Golf Resort Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, June 13, 2013.While in Northern Ireland, Obama also wants to push forward talks toward a major U.S.-European Union free trade agreement, which could boost jobs and growth by eliminating tariffs⁶ and other barriers.

在八国集团峰会期间，奥巴马也努力推动就建立“美欧自由贸易区”开展谈判，通过取消关税和消除其他贸易壁垒来促进就业和经济增长。

The president is likely to be confronted with the issue of U.S. government surveillance, both at the summit and when he meets with German Chancellor⁷ Angela Merkel in Berlin later in the week.

无论是八国峰会，还是之后与德国总理默克尔的会晤，奥巴马很难避免各方对美国政府监视计划提出问题。

Rehman said the issue might complicate⁸ their meeting. “NSA had put that program in place to spy on Middle East intelligence.  It has now since come out that this has been in Europe and particularly Germany as well," he noted⁹. "And the German public are in a bit of an uproar¹⁰ about this.  Rightly so, because they believe that the U.S. is infringing¹¹ on basic civil rights, not only in the U.S., but it is extending to Western Europe now.”

谢赫拉扎德·雷哈姆认为这会使他们的会晤变得复杂。他说：“美国国家安全局当初制定那个计划是为了搜集中东的情报，可是现在却发现已经蔓延到了欧洲，特别是德国。德国民众对此表现出极大的反感和不安。他们认为美国这样做是在侵犯民权，不但在美国，而且在西欧。”

Obama also will speak at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, near where he addressed an estimated 200,000 people during his 2008 presidential campaign.

奥巴马将在柏林的勃兰登堡门发表演说。在2008年总统大选期间，他曾到距离这里不远的地方向20万民众发表讲话。