Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the United States “unequivocally” supports the economic recovery plan of Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou. Clinton held talks with top Greek officials in Athens in advance of a critical European meeting Thursday on a second financial bailout for Greece.
美国国务卿克林顿说，美国“明确”支持希腊总理帕潘德里欧的经济复苏计划。克林顿在欧盟举行重大会议之前到雅典和希腊高层官员举行了会谈。星期四欧盟举行的会议将讨论欧盟是否向希腊提供第二轮援助的问题。
The United States will have no role in the bailout decision, to be made by the 17 key “Eurozone” countries of the European Union.
美国将不会参与是否援助希腊的决定，这个决定将由欧盟的欧元区17个关键国来达成。
But Clinton delivered a strong message of political backing, saying she was pleased to be in Athens in what she termed “challenging times” to demonstrate the United States’ “unequivocally strong support” for NATO ally Greece.
但克林顿传达了政治支持的坚定信息。她说，她很高兴在这个困难时刻来到雅典，来展现美国对北约盟国希腊明确而强有力的支持。
The Secretary of State said the Papandreou government’s new round of austerity measures and tax hikes are strong medicine and difficult therapy for Greek citizens, but said the United States has every confidence of an eventual economic rebound.
克林顿国务卿说，帕潘德里欧政府新一轮的紧缩措施和增税是一剂猛药，对希腊人民来讲是艰难的治疗方法，但她说，美国对希腊经济最终复苏完全有信心。
“I have faith in the resilience of the Greek people. And I applaud the Greek government on its willingness to take these difficult steps. Greece has inspired the world before and I have every confidence that you are doing so again. And as you do what you must to bring your economy back to health, you will have the full support of the United States,” said the US top diplomat.
克林顿说：“我对希腊人民的恢复能力有信心。我支持希腊政府愿意采取这些艰难的步骤。希腊从前鼓舞了世界，我完全相信你们能够再次做到。所以当你采取必要的措施健全经济时，你们将有美国的全力支持。”
Clinton spoke at a press event with Greek Foreign Minister Stavros Lambrinidis, newly installed after the recent Greek Cabinet shakeup.
克林顿是在与希腊外交部长兰姆布里尼迪斯一起召开的记者会上讲的话。
Speaking through an interpreter, he said that while many on both sides of the Atlantic have “bet on the collapse of Greece” the Papandreou government will prove them wrong.
兰姆布里尼迪斯是在最近希腊内阁大改组后上任。兰姆布里尼迪斯说，虽然大西洋两岸的许多人都“赌希腊会崩溃”，但帕潘德里欧政府将证明，他们的想法都是错误的。
“Despite the doomsayers, we are proceeding and we shall come out of this victorious. Of course we have no magic solutions. But there is no question the sacrifices that the Greek people have made have not only done away with the very real past risk of default, but will create a sound basis for recovery.”
兰姆布里尼迪斯说：“尽管有些人说希腊完了，我们要继续前进，而且我们会赢得胜利。我们当然没有神奇的解决方案。但无疑的，希腊人民的牺牲不仅让拖欠债款的危机过去，也将为复苏创造稳固的基础。”
The Greek foreign minister said his country needs not only U.S. but European solidarity, a message he said was lost on some E.U. member states in recent months.
这位希腊外长还说，希腊不仅需要美国，也需要欧洲国家的团结。他说，一些欧盟成员国最近几个月对这个信息充耳不闻。
A senior U.S. official said while not diminishing the severity of Greece’s problems, that country represents only about three percent of the E.U. economy, and the Greek problem is not of a magnitude the European Union cannot deal with.
一名美国高级官员说，他不是在低估希腊问题的严重性，但希腊只占欧盟经济大约3%，而且希腊问题并没达到欧盟无法应付的程度。
Clinton’s talks here also focused on the Middle East political turmoil, Balkan stability, Greek-Turkish relations, and Cyprus.
克林顿在雅典的会谈同时也集中讨论中东的政治动荡、巴尔干半岛的稳定、希腊和土耳其关系以及塞浦路斯。
Clinton said Saturday the United States would like to see a Cyprus settlement before the island state is to assume the E.U. presidency for the first time next year.
克林顿星期六说，美国想在塞浦路斯明年首度担任欧盟轮值主席国前看到塞浦路斯问题获得解决。
The Greek foreign minister said he thinks progress is possible, but that it mainly requires political will on the part of the Turkish government.
希腊外长说，他认为进展是可能的，但主要要看土耳其政府的政治意愿。
Cyprus has been divided along ethnic lines since 1974 when Turkish troops occupied the northern third of the island in response to a coup in Nicosia aimed at a union with Greece.
塞浦路斯在1974年后产生了族裔分裂，当时因为尼科西亚发生了一场希望与希腊统一的政变，土耳其军队占领了塞浦路斯岛北部三分之一的领土。
The senior U.S. official said he is encouraged by the fact that Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders have held more than 80 face-to-face meetings during the past two years. He said they are “close” to an agreement, but that being close is not sufficient.
这位美国高级官员说，希腊裔和土耳其裔的塞浦路斯领导人过去两年举行过80多次面对面会议，这让他感到鼓舞。他说，他们快要达成协议，但这还是不够。 |