The foreign ministers of 45 Asian and European countries met in Hanoi Monday for talks on the global economy but found themselves wrapped up with the issues of Burma and North Korea.
亚洲和欧洲45个国家的外交部长星期一在河内举行会晤，共同商讨全球经济问题，但却发现他们全神贯注在缅甸和北韩的问题上。
The foreign ministers had expected to take up the question of how Europe and Asia could cooperate to pull the world's economy out of the downturn it has fallen into since the global financial crisis began. But the highest-profile session of the so-called ASEM group (Asia Europe Meeting), took place between representatives of the European Union and Burma.
这些国家的外交部长原来计划讨论欧洲和亚洲如何共同合作，带动世界经济走出全球金融危机开始后的低迷局面。但是最为引人注目的所谓亚欧会议却是由欧盟代表和缅甸代表参加的。
The European Union called for the Burmese government to release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. She is on trial for violating the terms of the house arrest under which the government has held her for 14 of the past 20 years.
欧盟呼吁缅甸政府释放反对派领导人昂山素季。她是在软禁期间违反规定而正在受审。在过去20年内，缅甸政府已软禁了她14年。
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said releasing Suu Kyi was crucial to pave the way for planned elections in Burma next year.
瑞典外交部长卡尔.比尔特说，释放昂山素季对于缅甸明年举行的选举至关重要。
"What is necessary for those elections is to have an inclusive dialogue with all political forces in the country. That is the necessary precondition for the stability that I think everyone is seeking for the country to be able to move forward," Mr. Bildt said. "And for that to be possible, there must of course be freedom for the different political forces."
“这些选举所必需的是和缅甸所有政治力量进行对话。这是使局势稳定的先决条件，我认为，每个人都在争取使缅甸实现稳定，以便使这个国家向前迈进。为实现这一目标，不同政治力量当然必须享有自由。 ”
By the time Bildt and Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout finished meeting with the Burmese, North Korea announced it had tested a second nuclear bomb. Bildt had to respond to that issue, too.
当比尔特和捷克外交部长结束和缅甸举行的会议后，北韩宣布它进行了第二次核试验。 比尔特必须对这个问题作出回应。
"It is alarming, it is a condemnation of the provocative regime in Pyongyang. I think it further isolates the country, I think it further aggravates the long-term situation of the country," Mr. Bildt said.
The North Korean move prompted the strongest response from the Japanese delegation. Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kazuo Kodama said Japan would press for the ASEM meeting to issue a joint statement condemning the nuclear test, apart from the conference's normal closing statement.
北韩的行为促使日本代表团作出了最强烈的反应。日本外务省发言人儿玉和夫表示，日本将迫使亚欧会议，除了发表大会正常的闭幕声明以外，还发表一项谴责北韩核试验的联合声明。
"This nuclear testing poses a grave threat, a challenge to the NEPT regime and also poses a grave threat to the peace and security, stability, not only in the Northeast Asian region, but also the whole global community," Kodama said.
“核试验构成了严重威胁，不仅对东北亚地区的和平和安全，稳定构成威胁，而且也对全球各国形成威胁。”
The Chinese, South Korean and North Korean delegations were reported to have met on the sidelines of the ASEM meeting, but no results of that meeting were made public.
据报导，中国，韩国和北韩代表团在亚欧会议期间抽空举行了会晤，但是没有公布会议结果。 |