俄羅斯將向敘利亞部署2000名軍事人員

Russia is to deploy 2,000 military personnel to its new air base near the Syrian port city of Latakia, signalling the scale of Moscow’s involvement in the war-torn country.

衛星圖片顯示一架俄羅斯運輸機在敘利亞拉塔基亞空軍基地降落

The deployment “forms the first phase of the mission there”, according to an adviser on Syria policy in Moscow.

俄羅斯將向其在敘利亞拉塔基亞港附近的新的空軍基地部署2000名軍事人員，這表明俄羅斯正深入介入到這個戰火紛飛的國家。

The force will include fighter aircraft crews, engineers and troops to secure the facility, said another person briefed on the matter.

一位駐莫斯科的敘利亞政策顧問稱，此次部署是“此次行動的第一階段”。

The pair declined to confirm whether Moscow had sent surface-to-air missiles and fighter jets, as alleged by Washington at the weekend.

據另一名簡要介紹此事的人士稱，這次部署將包括戰鬥機組成人員、工程師以及保護這個軍事基地的軍隊。

But Russian and western military experts said surface-to-air missiles were an integral part of the defences of any air base.

兩人都拒絕證實俄羅斯是否已向敘利亞派遣地對空導彈和戰鬥機，美國上週末聲稱俄羅斯已這麼做了。

The comments are unlikely to allay fears in the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis), that Russia’s military involvement in Syria could escalate the country’s bloody civil war or risk incidents between Russian and other forces active in the country.

但俄羅斯和西方軍事專家表示，地對空導彈是任何一個空軍基地防禦的不可或缺的一部分。

A Russian official on Monday dismissed as “disingenuous” comments by John Kerry, US secretary of state, that the presence of Russian air-to-air combat capacity and surface-to-air missiles in Syria “raises serious questions”, since the capabilities are of little military use against jihadi groups such as Isis, which is Moscow’s stated reason for its increased intervention in the Syrian conflict.

一名俄羅斯官員週一稱美國國務卿約翰克里(John Kerry)的言論是“不誠實”的。克里表示，俄羅斯空對空作戰能力以及地對空導彈在敘利亞的出現將“引發嚴重問題”，這些軍事能力對於對Isis等聖戰組織予以軍事打擊並沒有很大用處。而俄羅斯表示，該國擴大對敘利亞衝突的干預的原因正是Isis。

Three western defence officials agreed that the Russian deployment tallied with the numbers needed to establish a forward air base similar to those built by western militaries in Afghanistan.

3名西方國防官員認爲，俄羅斯此次部署符合建立前方作戰空軍基地所需的人數，這種基地與西方軍隊在阿富汗建立的基地類似。

Fears that Russia’s ramped up military presence could further complicate the balance of forces in Syria prompted Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to travel to Moscow for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

俄羅斯擴大軍事影響力的舉措可能會進一步令敘利亞的力量平衡複雜化，這種擔憂促使以色列總理本雅明蔠呑尼亞胡(Benjamin Netanyahu)趕赴莫斯科，與俄羅斯總統弗拉基米爾渠京(Vladimir Putin)於週一進行會談。

In a sign of the risks this could entail, Moscow on Monday accused Syrian rebel forces of shelling its embassy in Damascus and demanded that their western and regional allies take steps to rein them in.

俄羅斯週一批評敘利亞叛軍炮擊俄羅斯駐大馬士革大使館，並要求西方和地區盟友採取措施制止他們，這一跡象表明俄羅斯增兵可能會帶來危險。