俄羅斯能否在年底前加入世貿組織？
　　Russia has been trying to join the World Trade Organization since 1993. Now Russian officials are saying they hope to become a member by the end of this year.
　　俄羅斯方面自從1993年起，就一直想要加入世界貿易組織。如今，俄羅斯官員說，希望能夠在今年年底以前正式成為世貿組織成員。
　　The 153-member World Trade Organization (WTO) is the agency overseeing the rules of international trade. It was founded in 1995, replacing an organization known as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
　　世貿組織目前有153個成員國，世貿組織負責監管國際貿易法規的實施。現今的世貿組織是1995年成立的，它的前身是GATT --General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade --關稅和貿易總協定。
　　Experts say to become a WTO member is a complex procedure. First, a country has to accept a whole series of agreements. They include a ceiling on tariff levels governments can impose on various imported goods and another dealing with the protection of intellectual property. In addition to accepting all the WTO rules, a country then has to settle bilateral trade agreements with all the countries that so desire. And finally, a country has to change many of its economic and trade laws to make them conform to international standards.
　　專家們說，申請成為世貿組織成員的過程是相當復雜的。首先，一個國家必須要接受整套的既定協議和法規，這其中包括政府能夠給予各種進口物資設置的關稅有固定的上限，另外還有保護知識產權的法規，等等。除了要接受世貿組織所有這些法規之外，想要申請加入世貿組織的國家還必須解決和所有國家之間的雙邊貿易糾紛，除非對方國家不想解決和申請國之間的貿易糾紛。后，申請加入世貿組織的國家還必須對本國的經濟和貿易法規進行調整，適應國際準則。
　　The last country to join the Geneva-based WTO was Ukraine in 2008. Russia has been negotiating for 18 years.
　　世貿組織的新成員國是烏克蘭，它在2008年加入了世貿。俄羅斯已經為世貿一事，同各方協商了18年之久。
　　David Christy, a lawyer [with the firm Thompson Hine] and trade expert who has helped governments with their WTO bids, says a country that wants to join and is serious in meeting WTO requirements can become a member within three to four years.
　　大衛·克里斯帝是一位律師和貿易問題專家，他曾經幫助過不只一個國家申請加入世貿組織。克里斯帝說，一個國家如真想加入世貿組織、而且確實努力達到世貿組織的各項規定的話，一般只要三、四年的時間，就可以申請成功。
　　"When a country like Russia or China joins, it generally takes longer because the economy is so much more complex, but also because they are negotiating hard to minimize the obligations that they will be forced to undertake," said Christy. "And Russia was willing to put off its accession in order to ensure that the package of obligations it eventually accepts is as light as possible. And in that regard, kudos to them and their negotiators - I think they have done an excellent job. They have an exceedingly forceful negotiating style that tends to wear down other delegations. And so they are willing to keep the negotiating process going for year, after year, after year," Christy added.
　　他說：“像俄羅斯或者是中國這樣的國家要加入世貿組織的話，一般會需要比較長的時間，因為這類國家的經濟架構和內涵，比起一般國家來說，要復雜得多，同時也因為這些國家本身申請加入世貿期間，在談判過程中，也非常下功夫，盡量減少不得不履行的責任。俄羅斯方面為了要保障它后必須要履行的整套責任越少越好，寧愿推遲加入世貿組織。從這個意義上講，不得不說俄羅斯方面和他們的那些負責談判的人員做得不錯。在我看來，他們做得非常出色。”克里斯帝是這樣形容俄羅斯的談判方式的：“他們的談判方式可以說是非常有說服力，一般都會把其他談判方談垮，他們也很有耐心，不惜年復一年地談下去。”
　　Anders Aslund, a Russia expert with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, says Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is a forceful advocate of Russia’s WTO accession.
　　安德斯·阿斯蘭德是美國彼得森國際經濟研究所的一位俄羅斯問題專家。他說，俄羅斯總統梅德韋杰夫在俄羅斯加入世貿問題上，一直非常努力。
　　"He has been pushing it and substantial progress has been made in the last two years," said Aslund. "And the other period when there was substantial progress was the years 2000 to 2003 - President [Vladimir] Putin’s first term. But in between, say between 2003 and 2010, very little progress was made."
　　阿斯蘭德說：“梅德韋杰夫一直在推動這件事，而且過去兩年中，也確實取得了一些實質性的進展。另外，從2000年到2003年普京首次出任總統期間，也取得了一些實質性的進展。但是在2003到2010年期間，基本上沒有任何進展。”
　　Experts say one major obstacle remains to Russia’s WTO membership and that is Georgia’s opposition to it. Under WTO rules, any member can block a new country from joining simply by vetoing it, because the organization operates by consensus.
　　專家們表示，俄羅斯加入世貿組織的一個主要障礙，是格魯吉亞方面對此持有的反對意見。根據世貿組織的規定，任何一個成員國都可以行使否決權，不讓新申請的國家“入世”，因為世貿組織的運作規則，是依靠所有成員國的認同。
　　Georgia has always strongly opposed Russia’s support for the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Moscow and Tbilisi fought a brief war over them in 2008. Russia now considers the two independent states, a status not accepted by the international community.
　　格魯吉亞一直反對俄羅斯支持從格魯吉亞分離出去的阿布哈茲和南奧賽梯，格魯吉亞和俄羅斯之間還在2008年就上述兩個地區的問題，發動了短暫的戰爭。俄羅斯現在承認阿布哈茲和南奧賽梯是兩個獨立的國家，但是其他國家都沒有承認這一點。
　　Anders Aslund says Georgia’s opposition to Moscow’s bid has to do with customs procedures between Russia and the two separatist regions.
　　彼得森國際經濟研究所的阿斯蘭德說，格魯吉亞反對俄羅斯入世，與俄羅斯和上述兩個地區之間的關稅協議有關。
　　"What the Georgians are demanding is that there is some kind of multilateral control over trade flows through these two territories, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. And Russia has resisted it," Aslund noted.
　　阿斯蘭德說：“格魯吉亞現在要求的，是在有關阿布哈茲和南奧賽第兩個區域的貿易問題上，能夠有某種多邊形式的控制。而俄羅斯方面一直抵制這一點。”
　　David Christy says the real issue is that Russia is treating the breakaway regions as being completely separate from Georgia - which is strongly opposed by Tbilisi.
　　從事法律和貿易事務的克里斯帝說，真正的問題在于俄羅斯將這兩個分離出去的地區當作完全獨立于格魯吉亞的國家來對待，而這一點，是格魯吉亞不能接受的。
　　"So that trade, in Russia’s view, would be flowing from Russia through South Ossetia [and Abkhazia] and then into Georgia," said Christy. "Whereas from Georgia’s view, as soon as it crosses out of Russia, it’s in Georgia as a matter of international law, even if Georgia doesn’t fully control that territory."
　　克里斯帝說：“從俄羅斯的角度講，貿易往來可以始自俄羅斯，經由阿布哈茲和南奧賽第，再到格魯吉亞。但是，從格魯吉亞的角度來講，根據國際法，所有的貿易一旦出了俄羅斯，就進入了格魯吉亞境內，盡管格魯吉亞方面目前并沒有對兩個地區的進行全面管轄。”
　　The United States has backed Russia’s entry into the WTO while at the same time saying it will not pressure Georgia to change its view. Experts are divided as to whether Russia will be able to resolve its differences with Georgia by the December 15-17 WTO ministerial meeting in Geneva.
　　美國一直表示支持俄羅斯加入世貿組織，但是同時表示，不會給格魯吉亞施加壓力，迫使它改變立場。俄羅斯能否在今年12月份世貿組織部長級會議在日內瓦召開之前，解決和格魯吉亞之間的分歧，專家們目前也意見不一。