俄罗斯增兵叙利亚 表明强硬立场

Russia has sent a dozen or more warships to patrol waters near its naval base in Syria, a buildup that U.S. and European officials are taking as an aggressive stance meant partly to warn the West and Israel not to intervene in Syria's bloody civil war.

俄罗斯已经派出10多艘战舰在俄驻叙利亚海军基地附近水域巡逻，欧美官员认为俄罗斯此举是为显示强硬的立场，部分意在警告西方和以色列不要干涉叙利亚的血腥内战。

Russia's expanded presence in the eastern Mediterranean, which raised attention among U.S. officials starting three months ago, represents one of its largest sustained naval deployments since the Cold War. While Western officials say they don't fear an impending conflict with Russia's aged fleet, the presence adds a new source of potential danger for miscalculation in an increasingly combustible region.

俄罗斯在地中海东部地区扩大影响力三个月前开始引起美国官员的关注，这是冷战以来俄罗斯最大规模的持续性海军部署行动之一。尽管西方官员说，他们不担心与俄罗斯日渐老化的舰队即将发生的冲突，但在一个局势日益紧张的地区，俄罗斯的举动增加了各方可能出现误判的危险。

'It is a show of force. It's muscle flexing. It is about demonstrating their commitment to their interests,' a senior U.S. defense official said of the Russian deployments.

一位美国国防部高级官员在谈到俄罗斯的军事部署时说，这是在摩拳擦掌地显示力量，是在显示俄罗斯致力于保护自己的利益。

The military buildup is seen as Moscow's way of trying to strengthen its hand in any talks over Syria's future and buttress its influence in the Middle East. It also provides options for evacuating tens of thousands of Russians still in Syria.

俄罗斯的举动被认为是莫斯科试图在任何有关叙利亚未来的谈判中增加筹码、增强在中东影响力的手段。这也为撤离目前仍留在叙利亚的数万名俄罗斯人提供了多种选择。

Russian Navy and foreign ministry officials didn't respond to requests for comment.

俄罗斯海军和外交部官员没有回复记者的置评请求。

Russia supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while the U.S. has called for his removal. Moscow and Washington have worked to assemble an international conference involving Damascus amid low expectations that it could lead to a political transition.

俄罗斯支持叙利亚总统阿萨德(Bashar al-Assad)，而美国则呼吁阿萨德下台。莫斯科和华盛顿一直努力让叙利亚参与国际会谈，外界预计此举不太可能导致叙利亚政权交接。

But tensions have heightened around the region, with the West backing rebels as Moscow arms Mr. Assad. Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled this week that he would push ahead with the sale of an advanced air-defense system to Syria, according to U.S. intelligence reports, over Israeli and U.S. objections.

不过，这一地区的紧张局势一直在升温，西方支持反对派，而莫斯科为阿萨德提供武装。据美国情报报告显示，俄罗斯总统普京(Vladimir Putin)本周不顾以色列和美国的反对，表示将推进向叙利亚出售一种先进的防空系统的交易。

Hezbollah and its chief sponsor, Iran, also have rallied around Mr. Assad, sharing Russia's interest in keeping the regime in place. Recent Israeli airstrikes inside Syria have targeted missiles en route from Tehran to Hezbollah, Western intelligence officials have alleged.

真主党(Hezbollah)及其主要资助者伊朗也支持阿萨德，它们和俄罗斯一样，如果阿萨德政权倒掉，其利益将受损。西方情报官员称，最近以色列对叙利亚的空袭针对的是从德黑兰运到真主党的导弹。

U.S. officials said in interviews Thursday that another round of Israeli airstrikes could target a new transfer of advanced missiles in the near future. Israeli and Western intelligence services believe the missiles could be transferred to the militant Hezbollah group within days. Russia has strongly protested previous Israeli strikes in Syria.

美国官员周四接受采访时说，以色列有可能针对不久之后伊朗将向真主党新运送的一批先进导弹展开另一轮空袭。以色列和西方情报机构认为，这批导弹有可能在几天之内被运送给真主党武装分子。俄罗斯一直对以色列此前在叙利亚实施空袭表示强烈抗议。

Amid the strategic turmoil, U.S. and European defense officials say Russia appears to be trying to project power to deter outside intervention in Syria, which Russia sees as its foothold in the Middle East.

在当前的对叙战略呈现混乱之际，美国和欧洲的防务官员说，俄罗斯似乎正努力向叙利亚投送自己的力量，以阻止外部势力干预叙利亚局势。俄罗斯将叙利亚视为自己在中东的一个立足点。

U.S. and European officials believe Mr. Putin wants to prevent the West from contemplating a Libya-style military operation inside Syria. President Barack Obama doesn't want to intervene militarily, but he has said the calculation could be changed by suspected use of chemical weapons by Mr. Assad's forces. Likewise, the Pentagon has stepped up military contingency planning in the event of spillover of fighting into neighboring Turkey and Jordan, both close U.S. allies.

美国和欧洲官员认为，普京想阻止西方在叙利亚境内策划一场类似于当年在利比亚那样的军事行动。虽然美国总统奥巴马(Barack Obama)不想对叙利亚进行军事干预，但他已表态说，阿萨德的部队涉嫌使用化学武器，美国的原有想法可能发生改变。与此同时，美国国防部已在加紧制定军事应急计划，以便在叙利亚境内发生的战斗蔓延至土耳其和约旦境内的情况下做出应对。土耳其和约旦都是美国的亲密盟友。

Mr. Obama held out some hope Thursday that the coming conference with Russia would help the major powers reach a consensus on how to end the bloodshed in Syria.

奥巴马周四仍然抱有一些希望，认为即将与俄罗斯举行的会议有助于几个大国在如何结束叙利亚流血冲突的问题上达成共识。