美国副总统彭斯抨击俄罗斯“侵略幽灵”

US vice-president Mike Pence spoke out against what he described as “the spectre of aggression” from Russia, the day after Moscow said it would expel hundreds of US embassy staff in retaliation for US sanctions.

美国副总统迈克?彭斯(Mike Pence)公开抨击了他形容的来自俄罗斯的“侵略幽灵”。此前一天，莫斯科方面表示，将驱逐数百名美驻俄使馆工作人员，以报复美国的制裁。

Mr Pence, who threw America’s weight behind Nato after meetings with leaders of the three Baltic states that neighbour Russia, ratcheted up US rhetoric on Monday as observers waited to see how the US would react to diplomatic expulsions reminiscent of the cold war era.

彭斯在与同俄罗斯相邻的波罗的海三国领导人会晤后，着力强调了美国对北约(Nato)的支持。周一，他升级了美国的措辞，观察人士正在等着看美国如何回应这起令人想起冷战时代的外交驱逐事件。

Russia president Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that Russia would expel 755 US embassy staff in retaliation for the US passing new laws on sanctions against Moscow over alleged meddling in US elections and its 2014 involvement in Ukraine. The US said Russia required it to reduce total mission staffing to 455 employees by September 1.

俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔?普京(Vladimir Putin)周日表示，俄罗斯将驱逐755名美国使馆工作人员，以报复美国因俄罗斯涉嫌干预美国大选以及2014年插手乌克兰事务而通过针对莫斯科的新的制裁法案。美国表示，俄方要求其最迟在9月1日将使馆总人数减少至455人。

“A strong and united Nato is more necessary today than at any point since the collapse of communism a quarter-century ago,” Mr Pence told reporters in Estonia’s capital Tallinn. “And no threat looms larger in the Baltic states than the spectre of aggression from your unpredictable neighbour to the east.”

“自四分之一世纪前共产党政权倒台以来，一个强大而团结的北约如今比任何时候都更有必要。”彭斯在爱沙尼亚首都塔林(Tallinn)对记者表示，“而在波罗的海国家，没有比来自你们东面那个难以捉摸的邻国的侵略幽灵更加迫在眉睫的威胁。”

Mr Pence, who nevertheless said he hoped for “better relations” with Russia, appeared to annunciate a harsher line than secretary of state Rex Tillerson, who had attempted to frame the new sanctions laws in a more positive light over the weekend, saying “the American people [want] to see Russia take steps to improve relations with the United States”.

尽管也表示希望改善与俄罗斯关系，但彭斯似乎宣示了比国务卿雷克斯?蒂勒森(Rex Tillerson)更强硬的立场，后者在周末试图用更为积极的措辞来框定新的制裁法律，称“美国人民（希望）看到俄罗斯采取步骤来改善与美国的关系”。

Mr Tillerson had also looked beyond sanctions, by adding: “We hope that?.?.?.?these sanctions will no longer be necessary.”

蒂勒森还把眼光放到制裁以后的时代，补充说：“我们希望……这些制裁措施将不再必要。”

Mr Pence instead charged on Monday that “Russia seeks to redraw international borders by force, undermine democracies of sovereign nations and divide the free nations of Europe”, in comments which he said were endorsed by President Trump, and which Mr Tillerson also appeared to support on Twitter.

彭斯则在周一指控称，“俄罗斯试图通过武力重新划定国际边界，破坏主权国家民主，分裂欧洲的自由国家”。他表示，此番言论得到了特朗普(Trump)总统的支持，而蒂勒森似乎也在Twitter上表示支持。