VOA常速英语:Experts: NATO Prepared to Defend Its Members(翻译)

With Montenegro having begun the accession process to join NATO,the question over the Alliance’s future enlargement is once again looming large for countries in the Balkans and elsewhere.
随着黑山共和国加入北约的进程开始启动，该联盟未来的扩展问题再次在巴尔干半岛和其他地区日趋突出。
For Macedonia, at NATO’s doorstep, becoming a NATO member is the only alternative - says the country’s defense minister.
对即将加入北约的黑山共和国来说，成为北约的一份子是其唯一的选择──该国的国防部长如是说道。
“The more NATO is in the southeast Europe, in the Balkans, the more prosperous and stable the Balkans is.”
“北约在东南欧和巴尔干半岛的成员国越多，巴尔干半岛就越是繁荣稳定。”
Beyond the enlargement issue, the deployment of NATO forces in the Baltic countries,Poland and Romania will be the main focus at the upcoming Warsaw summit.Such the deployment is significant, says former U.S. ambassador to NATO, Kurt Volker.
除了扩展问题，北约在波罗的海国家、波兰和罗马尼亚的兵力部署也是接下来华沙峰会的主焦点。前美国驻北约大使Kurt Volker称该部署问题是十分重要的。
“It is a signal to anyone, including Russia, that NATO is prepared to defend its members.That is very, very important. That’s the heart of deterrence that is showing that willingness to take those steps,that’s critical…I’m very pleased to see that even with reducing defense budgets and reducing U.S. commitment overall, this step is very important.”
“这对任何一个国家来说都是一个信号，包括俄罗斯在内，警示各国：北约已经准备好维护其成员国利益。这是非常非常重要的。这是震慑力的核心所在，这种震慑力表明北约愿意采取一些行动，这很关键......我很高兴看到这样。尽管总体来说国防预算不断减少，美国的承诺也不断降低，但这一步还是非常重要的。”
But NATO’s move to station forces on its eastern flank and its membership enlargement are considered threats by Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
但是人们认为北约之所以开始在其东部侧翼部署驻军以及其不断扩展成员国，是因为受到了俄罗斯总统普京的威胁。
“His goal is to get NATO to back down.He wants to divide Europe, divide NATO, force NATO to back down,not protect the member states of NATO that are adjacent to Russia.It is very important that NATO not accept that. “
“他的目的是让北约骑虎难下。他要分裂欧洲，分裂北约。迫使北约让步，无法保护那些毗邻俄罗斯的北约成员国。北约不能接受这种做法，这极其重要。”
Russia has responded to NATO’s focus on its eastern flankwith a pledge to deploy three divisions– numbering some 30,000 troops – to its western and southern flanks by the end of this year.
俄罗斯回应了北约在其东部侧翼的做法，承诺年底在其西部和南部侧翼部署三个师（大约3万士兵）。