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奥巴马访爱沙尼亚 打消波罗的海国家的疑虑

President Barack Obama leaves Tuesday for a trip to Estonia and later Wales, in Britain, for a gathering¹ of leaders of NATO countries. Russia's latest actions in Ukraine are making the trip an especially important one.

美国总统奥巴马星期二前往爱沙尼亚，然后将在英国的威尔士出席北约国家领导人会议。由于俄罗斯最近在乌克兰采取的行动，奥巴马的这次访问特别重要。

The arrival of U.S. troops in Estonia last April was a concrete sign of American support for Baltic nations feeling threatened by Russia's aggression² in Ukraine.

美国军队4月抵达爱沙尼亚,表明了美国对受到俄罗斯入侵乌克兰威胁的波罗的海国家的支持。

Obama's stop in Estonia -- a NATO member -- is meant to reaffirm America's defense³ commitments.

奥巴马总统在北约成员爱沙尼亚的停留，意在要重申美国的防御承诺。

“Part of the reason I’ll be going to Estonia is to let the Estonians know that we mean what we say with respect to our treaty obligations,” said the president.

他说：“我前往爱沙尼亚的部分原因，就是让爱沙尼亚人知道，我们在条约责任的问题上说到做到。”

Fresh violence and evidence that Russia is sending hundreds of troops into Ukraine means Obama's visit comes at a critical time.

俄罗斯派遣数以百计的军队进入乌克兰，奥巴马的访问正值一个关键时刻。

Estonia, like Ukraine, is a former Soviet⁴ Republic, and also like Ukraine, has a large Russian minority. These factors make Estonians feel vulnerable.

如同乌克兰一样，爱沙尼亚是一个前苏联加盟共和国，而且俄罗斯少数族裔人口众多。所有这些因素让爱沙尼亚人感到自己弱小，容易招致攻击。

Heather Conley, a former Deputy Assistant U.S. Secretary of State, said, “There has always been a great fear in the Baltic states that if push came to shove, they question whether NATO would really have their back. And I think it’s very clear, not only with words and our solidarity⁵, but we’ve actually put U.S. soldiers, hardware, in the Baltic states.”

前美国国务院副助理国务卿海瑟.康利说：“波罗的海国家总是心存巨大恐惧。他们担心，真到了迫不得已的地步，北约是否会真的支持他们。很清楚，我们不仅要做出承诺，展示我们的团结，而且我们还的确把美国军人和装备运到波罗的海国家。”

But NATO's capacity to fulfill⁶ its commitments is another question. With European members cutting their defense budgets, much of the burden of providing equipment and personnel for alliance missions is falling on the U.S.

但是北约完成其承诺的能力则是另外一回事儿。欧洲成员国在削减国防预算，为北约使命提供装备和人员的大部分负担落在美国的身上。

The president plans to call on member nations to do more.

“Part of the reason I think this NATO meeting is going to be so important is to refocus attention on the critical function that NATO plays to make sure that every country is contributing in order to deliver on the promise of our Article 5 assurances,” said Obama.

奥巴马说：“我认为，这次北约会议之所以这样重要的部分原因，是重新着重考虑北约发挥的关键功能，确保每个成员国都做出贡献，兑现我们对北约第五条保证做出的承诺。”

U.S. officials hope the crisis in Ukraine will be enough of a wake-up call for NATO members to realize they should boost their contributions.

美国官员希望，乌克兰的危机应足以对北约成员国敲响警钟，让他们认识到应加大各自的贡献。