Finland said on Thursday it would apply for NATO membership "without delay." Another Nordic country, Sweden, is also expected to seek membership.
芬兰周四称将“立即”申请加入北约。另一个北欧国家瑞典也有望加入。
The decision angered Russia, whose military is struggling with its war in Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine in part to prevent an expansion of the NATO military alliance.
这一决定激怒了俄罗斯，该国军队正陷入与乌克兰战争的泥潭。俄罗斯入侵乌克兰的部分原因是为了防止北约军事联盟的扩张。
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said in a joint statement, "Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay. We hope that the national steps still needed to make this decision will be taken rapidly within the next few days."
芬兰总统绍利·尼尼斯托和总理桑娜·马林在一份联合声明中表示：“芬兰必须立即申请加入北约。我们希望未来几天能在国家层面迅速采取必要措施以便做出这一决定。”
The announcement signaled that the Nordic country has dropped its position of neutrality that it held throughout the Cold War.
该声明表明，这个北欧国家已经放弃了其在整个冷战期间所保持的中立立场。
The two leaders added, "NATO membership would strengthen Finland's security. As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the entire defense alliance."
这两位领导人还表示：“加入北约将加强芬兰的安全。作为北约成员国，芬兰将加强整个防务联盟。”
Finland's inclusion in NATO would bring the military alliance's expansion right up to the Russian border. Finland has the longest border with Russia out of all the European Union's 27 members.
芬兰加入北约将使这个军事联盟的扩张延伸到俄罗斯边境。在欧盟所有27个成员国中，芬兰与俄罗斯的边境线最长。
Russian officials had warned of "military and political repercussions" if Sweden and Finland decided to join NATO. Russian officials had also spoken about the possibility of stationing nuclear-armed missiles on the Baltic Sea.
俄罗斯官员警告称，如果瑞典和芬兰决定加入北约，将会产生“军事和政治影响”。俄罗斯官员还谈到了在波罗的海部署核导弹的可能性。
Finland's announcement came a day after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited both Finland and Sweden to sign a military cooperation agreement. Britain said on Wednesday that it would help the two Nordic nations if they came under attack.
芬兰宣布该消息的前一天，英国首相鲍里斯·约翰逊访问了芬兰和瑞典，签署了一项军事合作协议。英国周三表示，如果这两个北欧国家遭受攻击，它将展开援助。
Niinisto wrote on Twitter that he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about Finland's firm support for Ukraine and the country's plan to join NATO. Niinisto said Zelenskyy "expressed his full support for it."
尼尼斯托在推特上写道，他与乌克兰总统泽连斯基就芬兰对乌克兰的坚定支持以及该国加入北约的计划进行了交谈。尼尼斯托表示，泽连斯基对此表示完全支持。
The announcement came as Russia suffered another setback in its invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian forces this week drove Russian troops out of the area around its second-largest city Kharkiv. Russia already withdrew its forces from the area surrounding the capital, Kyiv.
这一声明发布之际，俄罗斯在入侵乌克兰方面又遭遇了挫折。本周，乌克兰军队将俄罗斯军队赶出了该国第二大城市哈尔科夫周边地区。俄罗斯已经从首都基辅周边地区撤军。
Finland-Russia relations
芬兰同俄罗斯关系
Finland has centuries of uneasy relations with Russia. The country was ruled by the Russian empire from 1809 to 1917. It fought off Soviet invasions before the start of World War Two and gave up some territory.
芬兰与俄罗斯有着数百年的不稳定关系。该国从1809年到1917年由俄罗斯帝国统治。它在第二次世界大战开始前击退了苏联的入侵，并放弃了一些领土。
From 1956 to 1982, Finland kept friendly and close relations with Russia to keep its independence by avoiding conflict. The country stayed neutral during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies. Finland joined the European Union in 1995 but stayed out of the NATO alliance.
从1956年到1982年，芬兰与俄罗斯保持了友好和密切的关系，通过避免冲突以保持其独立性。在美苏及其盟国之间的冷战期间，芬兰保持中立。芬兰于1995年加入欧盟，但是没有加入北约联盟。
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, public support in Finland started to grow for membership in NATO.
在俄罗斯入侵乌克兰之后，芬兰民众对加入北约的支持度开始提升。
The latest opinion study by Finnish public broadcaster YLE shows that 76 percent of Finns are in favor of joining NATO. That marks a major increase from earlier years, when only 20 to 30 percent of Finns favored joining the military alliance.
芬兰公共广播公司YLE最新民意调查显示，76%的芬兰人赞成加入北约。这与早些年相比有了显著增长，当时只有20%到30%的芬兰人赞成加入北约。
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Finland and Sweden would be "warmly welcomed." He said the process for the countries to join the alliance would be "smooth and swift".
北约秘书长延斯·斯托尔滕贝格表示，芬兰和瑞典将受到“热烈欢迎”。他说，各国加入北约的进程将“顺利而迅速”。
I'm Dan Novak.
我是丹·诺瓦克。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，请勿转载，违者必究！)