克里將訪俄討論烏克蘭問題

John Kerry is to visit Moscow today for the first time since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis, which left relations between the US and Russia at a post-cold war low.

約翰•克里(John Kerry)將於今日訪問俄羅斯，這是自烏克蘭危機致使美俄關係降至冷戰後低點以來的第一次。

The US secretary of state is to visit the Black Sea resort of Sochi and meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, the state department said, adding that the two sides would discuss the Ukraine crisis, Syria and Iran.

美國國務院稱，美國國務卿將訪問黑海度假勝地索契，會晤俄羅斯總統弗拉基米爾•普京(Vladimir Putin)和外交部長謝爾蓋•拉夫羅夫(Sergei Lavrov)，雙方將討論烏克蘭危機、敘利亞以及伊朗問題。

“This trip is part of our ongoing effort to maintain direct lines of communication with senior Russian officials and to ensure US views are clearly conveyed,” the state department said.

美國國務院稱，“此次出訪是我們持續努力與俄羅斯高級官員保持直接溝通、並確保美國的觀點被清晰傳達的一部分。”

For Moscow, Mr Kerry’s visit marks a diplomatic victory as it allows the Russian government to argue that Russia plays too important a role on the international stage to be isolated by the west.

對莫斯科方面來說，克里的訪問標誌着一個外交勝利，因爲這讓俄羅斯政府辯稱，俄羅斯在國際舞臺上扮演的角色過於重要，西方不應對其孤立。

Mr Kerry’s visit to Moscow comes just days after Russia’s celebration of the 70th anniversary of the end of the second world war in Europe, which the US and most of its western allies had boycotted. While Mr Kerry and Mr Lavrov have met elsewhere and kept in frequent phone contact over the past two years, he has not visited Moscow since May 2013.

在克里訪俄的幾天前，俄羅斯剛剛慶祝了歐洲二戰勝利70週年，而美國及其主要西方盟友抵制了這場紀念活動。儘管過去兩年間克里和拉夫羅夫在其他地方有過會面並經常保持電話溝通，但他自2013年5月以來未訪問過莫斯科。

Ahead of the visit by Mr Kerry, the Russian foreign ministry blamed Washington for bringing about a “collapse” in bilateral relations between the two countries through the US policy of isolation against Moscow and repeated a long list of complaints against the US including Nato expansion and US accusations against Russia over its role in the war in Ukraine.

在克里訪俄前，俄羅斯外交部指責華盛頓方面對俄實施孤立政策，致使雙邊關係“崩潰”，並重復了對美國的一長串抱怨，其中包括北約(NATO)擴張以及美國就俄羅斯在烏克蘭戰爭中的角色提出的指控。

But it added that Russia continued to co-operate with the US in areas where this was in line with Russian national interests and served the task of safeguarding global security.

但俄羅斯外交部補充稱，俄羅斯在符合國家利益、並且有利於維護全球安全的領域繼續與美國合作。