美國副總統彭斯抨擊俄羅斯“侵略幽靈”

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.

美國副總統邁克?彭斯(Mike Pence)公開抨擊了他形容的來自俄羅斯的“侵略幽靈”。此前一天，莫斯科方面表示，將驅逐數百名美駐俄使館工作人員，以報復美國的制裁。

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.

彭斯在與同俄羅斯相鄰的波羅的海三國領導人會晤後，着力強調了美國對北約(Nato)的支持。週一，他升級了美國的措辭，觀察人士正在等着看美國如何迴應這起令人想起冷戰時代的外交驅逐事件。

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.

俄羅斯總統弗拉基米爾?普京(Vladimir Putin)週日表示，俄羅斯將驅逐755名美國使館工作人員，以報復美國因俄羅斯涉嫌干預美國大選以及2014年插手烏克蘭事務而通過針對莫斯科的新的制裁法案。美國表示，俄方要求其最遲在9月1日將使館總人數減少至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.”

“自四分之一世紀前共產黨政權倒臺以來，一個強大而團結的北約如今比任何時候都更有必要。”彭斯在愛沙尼亞首都塔林(Tallinn)對記者表示，“而在波羅的海國家，沒有比來自你們東面那個難以捉摸的鄰國的侵略幽靈更加迫在眉睫的威脅。”

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”.

儘管也表示希望改善與俄羅斯關係，但彭斯似乎宣示了比國務卿雷克斯?蒂勒森(Rex Tillerson)更強硬的立場，後者在週末試圖用更爲積極的措辭來框定新的制裁法律，稱“美國人民（希望）看到俄羅斯採取步驟來改善與美國的關係”。

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

蒂勒森還把眼光放到制裁以後的時代，補充說：“我們希望……這些制裁措施將不再必要。”

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.

彭斯則在週一指控稱，“俄羅斯試圖通過武力重新劃定國際邊界，破壞主權國家民主，分裂歐洲的自由國家”。他表示，此番言論得到了特朗普(Trump)總統的支持，而蒂勒森似乎也在Twitter上表示支持。