Leaders from the 26-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization hold their summit this week in Bucharest, Romania. Topping the agenda will be what to do to help stabilize Afghanistan and what additional countries NATO may invite to join the alliance.
北大西洋公约组织26个成员国的领导人本星期在罗马尼亚首都布加勒斯特召开首脑会议。议事日程中最紧要的问题是如何帮助稳定阿富汗的局势以及北约还可能邀请哪些国家加入这个国际组织。
There have been dire reports in recent months about the situation in Afghanistan and warnings of potentially disastrous consequences if NATO does not pull together to send more troops and equipment.
有关阿富汗的局势，最近几个星期以来出现了一些令人担忧的报导，这些报导还警告说，如果北约不集中力量派遣更多的部队和输送武器，阿富汗将可能出现灾难性的后果。
Afghanistan will be the main issue at the Bucharest summit and NATO spokesman James Appathurai told VOA in an interview that NATO members are expected to reaffirm their long-term commitment and to stress the importance of getting the Afghans and the larger international community more involved.
阿富汗问题将成为在布加勒斯特召开的北约首脑会谈上的首要问题，北约发言人詹姆斯.阿帕修雷在接受采访时对美国之音说，北约成员预期将重申他们长期的承诺，并强调让阿富汗人和国际社会更大范围参与的重要性。
"NATO is not alone in Afghanistan, we should not be alone in Afghanistan, and we alone can not provide the solutions for Afghanistan," he said. "We need the U.N., we need the EU, we need the World Bank, we need the Afghans all to do more and we all need to do more together. The comprehensive approach will be to look at Afghanistan in a regional context. That includes very much a relationship with Pakistan and deepening our relationship with the new government in Pakistan as we go forward."
他说：“北约在阿富汗并不孤单，我们也不应该单独在阿富汗，只有我们自己并不能为阿富汗提供解决方案。我们需要联合国，我们需要欧盟，我们需要世界银行，我们需要阿富汗人民都来作更多努力，我们所有的人都需要共同作出更多努力。这种综合的方式需要把阿富汗放在一个区域环境中看待。这在很大程度上包括和巴基斯坦的关系，以及在我们的进程中加深我们和巴基斯坦新政府之间的关系。”
Appathurai said NATO welcomes the expected announcement by France that it will send additional troops to Afghanistan.
阿帕修雷说，北约欢迎法国即将宣布将派更多部队驻扎阿富汗的决定。
The summit will also focus on NATO enlargement - what countries get in and which ones get the nod of approval to begin the membership process.
本届北约首脑会谈也要关注北约扩展的问题，哪些国家可以加入，哪些国家获准开始取得会员资格的程序。
"There are three countries in the Western Balkans that are aspiring to join. That is Croatia, Albania, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia," Appathurai said. "We will see in Bucharest if zero, one, two or three will get invitations. Georgia and Ukraine both made public their aspirations to enter the ante-chamber as it were, join the membership action plan, which does not mean membership, but they are on the membership track without any specific timeline for when they can get in."
阿帕修雷说：“有三个巴尔干西部国家有意加入北约，它们是克罗地亚、阿尔巴尼亚和前南斯拉夫的马其顿。我们将在布加勒斯特看到到底是零、一、二还是三个都得到邀请。格鲁吉亚和乌克兰两国都公开表示它们愿意成为准成员，加入成员行动计划，当然这并不等于是北约正式成员，但也是在‘没有明确时间框架的前提下最终将成为会员’的轨道上。”
Albania and Croatia are widely expected to get a formal invitation to join NATO while the status of Macedonia is less clear.
阿尔巴尼亚和克罗地亚都被广泛期待获得北约正式邀请加入这个组织，但是马其顿的地位还不那么明朗。
NATO enlargement has been a contentious issue at times, not only among NATO members, but also with Russia, which sees the expansion of the alliance eastward as a threat.
北约扩展的行动已经多次引发争议，不仅在北约成员之间，还和俄罗斯发生争论。俄罗斯将北约向东扩展的行动看成是一个威胁。
NATO spokesman Appathurai says Russia need not worry, but should be brought into discussions on the issue.
"It is true that Russia is concerned about this," he said. "Our point of view is the successive rounds of NATO enlargement have clearly demonstrated that NATO enlargement builds stability and security where it takes place. So we believe it is the right thing to do for all of Europe and that any other country, even outside of NATO, benefits from it. That being said, Russia has concerns. We should talk to Russia about those concerns and we do to try and assuage them."
NATO leaders will get a chance to discuss the issue with outgoing Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will be at the Bucharest summit.
北约领导人将有机会和即将离任的俄罗斯总统普京讨论这个议题，他将前往布加勒斯特出席首脑会谈。
U.S. President George W. Bush has said he is in favor of Ukraine and Georgia joining NATO. Germany and France are among the member states against the idea, fearing it would hamper efforts to improve relations with Russia.
美国总统布什已经表示，他支持乌克兰和格鲁吉亚加入北约。德国和法国都站在反对这个想法的北约成员的一边。他们担心这会阻碍和俄罗斯改善关系的努力。
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