普京在G20峯會上從棄兒變寵兒

Vladimir Putin left last year’s G20 meeting in Brisbane early in a huff, tired of being chided by world leaders over Ukraine. Twelve months on, an audience with the Russian president was one of the hottest tickets in town, as western leaders were forced to recognise the road to peace in Syria inevitably runs through Moscow.

去年，俄羅斯總統弗拉基米爾渠京(Vladimir Putin)怒氣衝衝地提前離開了20國集團(G20)布里斯班峯會，因爲他厭倦了全球領導人在烏克蘭問題上對他提出的指責。12個月後，全球領導人卻爭先恐後地與他會面，因爲西方領導人無奈地認識到，敘利亞要想走向和平是繞不開莫斯科的。

Few at the annual summit of world leaders have seen such a transformation in their fortunes, or appeared to enjoy it as much, as Mr Putin moved from a scolded diplomatic outcast to a self-styled problem-solver the west cannot ignore.

在本屆全球領導人年度峯會上，幾乎沒有誰像普京那樣見證了自身命運的如此逆轉——他已從一個外交舞臺上備受指責和排斥的“棄兒”變成了一個西方無法忽視的、自封的問題解決者——也沒有誰像他那樣因此而表現得沾沾自喜。

Whether it was shifting air strikes to target Isis rather than Syrian rebels, or backing a political settlement in Ukraine and offering a debt restructuring deal, Mr Putin felt he held all the cards as the west came to him for answers.

無論是在將空襲目標變爲伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯蘭國(ISIS)、而非敘利亞叛軍這個問題上，還是在支持烏克蘭達成政治和解以及提出債務重組方案這個問題上，普京都感覺自己掌握了所有的牌，而西方在向他尋求解決方案。

“I can tell you a secret: I did this [leaving the G20 early last year] for technical reasons, in order not to have to wait in line for departure, that’s all,” Mr Putin said at his closing press conference at this year’s G20 meeting in the Turkish city of Antalya. “There were no problems at all, not then and not now.”

“我可以告訴你們一個祕密：我這麼做（去年提前離開G20峯會）是出於技術原因，是爲了不必排隊等着離開，如此而已。”普京在今年土耳其安塔利亞G20峯會的閉幕記者會上表示，“不存在什麼問題，那時沒有，現在也沒有。”

He added: “Of course, though, relations were more tense than today. But life goes on, everything changes: there are new problems, new threats, new challenges, which would be difficult to solve for anyone alone. It is necessary to join forces.”

他補充說：“當然，那時的關係比現在還緊張。但生活在繼續，一切都變了：出現了新的問題、新的威脅、新的挑戰，任何人都難以獨力解決，必須聯手。”

A picture of his impromptu huddle with Barack Obama — tweeted out by Kremlin aides — gave the impression of a return to a businesslike, transactional relationship with the US president, even though it was his first since Russia launched its surprise aerial campaign in Syria.

他與美國總統巴拉克攠巴馬(Barack Obama)即興碰頭的照片（俄政府助理髮在了Twitter上）讓人覺得，他與奧巴馬的關係回到了務實的、事務性的軌道上來。

Yet Mr Obama was careful not to raise hopes of a genuine thaw or imminent political breakthrough in Syria, saying only that “modest progress” had been made on the diplomatic front.

然而，奧巴馬去小心翼翼地不給人們留下美俄關係真正解凍或敘利亞局勢即將取得政治突破的印象，只是表示在外交方面取得了“一定進展”。

There were “disagreements” with Mr Putin over the future role of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian leader who is backed by Moscow, Mr Obama said. David Cameron, Britain’s prime minister, described the distance between the west and Russia on Assad as “enormous”.

奧巴馬錶示，在受到俄支持的敘利亞領導人巴沙爾阿薩德(Bashar al-Assad)的未來地位問題上，他與普京存在“不同意見”。英國首相戴維慍蕓倫(David Cameron)表示，西方與俄在阿薩德問題上存在“巨大”分歧。

And Mr Putin’s pledges to unite against terrorism were mixed with characteristic barbs about the success of French counterterrorism policy in Syria, or the impotence of US military action in the region.

考慮到法國總統弗朗索瓦攠朗德(Fran漀椀猀 Hollande)未來幾天將與普京會晤、以努力構建一個打擊ISIS的“聯盟”，外交人士將密切關注俄在敘利亞採取的地面行動。