Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says it is too early to say if the United States' troubled relationship with Syria is headed for a thaw. Syria's ambassador to Washington, Imad Mustafa, paid an unusual high-profile call at the State Department Thursday.
美国国务卿希拉里·克林顿表示，要说美国和叙利亚之间处于困境的关系是否正在朝解冻的方向发展，目前还为期尚早。星期四，叙利亚驻华盛顿大使穆斯塔法对美国国务院进行了一次不寻常的、高姿态的访问。
The Syrian envoy said after his meeting with Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman that the discussion was very constructive and was only the first in a series of U.S.-Syrian contacts.
叙利亚大使在会见负责近东事务的美国代理助理国务卿杰弗里·费尔特曼后表示，讨论是非常具有建设性的，并且是一系列美叙接触的第一次。
However Obama administration officials were more cautious, saying the future of the relationship depends on whether Syria is willing to be responsive to U.S. concerns about what is seen as interference in Lebanon, and support for radicals opposed to Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.
然而奥巴马政府官员却更为谨慎。他们表示，两国关系的未来取决于叙利亚是否愿意对美方的关注做出回应，其中包括干预黎巴嫩事务、支持反对以色列-巴勒斯坦和平努力的激进团体。
The United States has not had a full ambassador in Damascus since the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, in which U.N. investigators implicated Syrian agents.
2005年黎巴嫩前总理哈里里遇刺以来，美国就一直没有向大马士革派驻大使级外交官。联合国的调查认为叙利亚特工插手了那次暗杀。
Though the two governments have working-level contacts, Ambassador Mustafa's visits to the State Department are rare. Asked about Thursday's meeting at an event with Kosovo's leadership, Secretary Clinton was cautious about where the Syria dialogue will lead.
虽然两国政府间存在工作级别的接触，但是穆斯塔法大使造访美国国务院却是罕见的。克林顿国务卿星期四会见科索沃领导人的时候，有记者问及美国和叙利亚的对话会产生什么结果。克林顿做出了谨慎的回答。
"It is too soon to say what the future holds," said Hillary Clinton. "Obviously we are working very hard, as is our special envoy George Mitchell, to engage with not only the Israelis and the Palestinians but all of the neighbors in the region and beyond and we are going to pursue the commitment that we stated when we appointed our special envoy to try to bring the parties together for peace and stability in the Middle East."
她说：“现在要说出未来会怎样还为时尚早。显然，我们正在努力工作，我们的特使乔治·米切尔也在努力让不仅以色列人和巴勒斯坦人，还有那一地区的所有邻国都参与进来，我们正在努力履行我们在任命特使时的承诺，那就是让所有有关各方为中东地区的和平与稳定共同努力。”
Clinton will begin her first trip to the Middle East early next week, but will not visit Syria and according to officials is unlikely to have contact with her Syrian counterpart next Monday when they will both attend a donor conference for Gaza reconstruction in Egypt.
下个星期初，克林顿国务卿将首次出访中东，但是不会访问叙利亚。国务院官员表示，克林顿下个星期一在埃及参加加沙地带重建捐助国会议的时候，不大可能和同样出席会议的叙利亚外长进行接触。
Ambassador Mustafa, none-the-less, told reporters he is encouraged about prospects for the future U.S.-Syrian relationship, given President Obama's stated willingness for dialogue with respect with U.S. adversaries.
尽管如此，叙利亚驻华盛顿大使穆斯塔法对记者们表示，他对美叙关系的前景深受鼓舞，因为奥巴马总统表示，美国愿意以尊重的态度和美国的对手展开对话。
"We believe that this meeting has explored possibilities between Syria and the United States to engage seriously on a diplomatic and political level and also discuss all issues of mutual concern to both parties," said Imad Mustafa. "We think this is a first step and we believe there will be many further meetings in the future."
他说：“我们认为，这次会面探讨了叙利亚和美国以严肃的态度在外交和政治层面进行接触、讨论双方共同关心的所有问题的可能性。我们认为这是第一步，今后还会有更多的会面。”
State Department Acting Spokesman Robert Wood did not contest the ambassador's depiction of the discussion as constructive, but said future meetings were not agreed on and depend on Syrian actions to address U.S. concerns.
美国国务院代理发言人罗伯特·伍德没有对叙利亚大使有关讨论是具有建设性意义的说法提出异议，但是他表示，双方并没有就今后的会面达成一致意见，而且今后的会面取决于叙利亚是否采取行动满足美方的关注。
"We first want to see what comes out of the discussions in this meeting," said Robert Wood. "As you know, we're conducting a review of our Syria policy. We want to see, as I said, what steps the Syrians are willing to take to address our issues. We're certainly open to meeting them again if necessary. The Secretary has said that we want to engage Syria. But we do have a lot of concerns about Syrian behavior."
伍德说：“我们首先希望看到这次会面的结果怎样。我们正在对我们对叙利亚的政策进行审查。就像我刚才说的那样，我们希望看到叙利亚将愿意采取什么步骤来解决我们关注的问题。我们当然愿意在必要时再度和他们会面。国务卿表示我们希望和叙利亚进行接触。但是我们也很关注叙利亚的所作所为。”
The State Department formally announced Clinton's trip late Thursday. After the Gaza conference in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, the Secretary goes to Jerusalem and Ramallah for meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
星期四晚上，国务院正式公布了克林顿对中东地区的访问。在埃及度假胜地沙姆沙伊赫参加完加沙重建会议后，克林顿将访问耶路撒冷和拉马拉，会晤以色列和巴勒斯坦领导人。
The trip also includes a March 5 NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, a Geneva meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and a stop in Ankara.
这次出访还包括出席3月5日在布鲁塞尔举行的北约外长会议，在日内瓦会见俄罗斯外长拉夫罗夫以及在土耳其首都安卡拉短暂停留。 |