It's official: even though they are involved in the worst East-West clash since the Cold War, Barack Obama would save Vladimir Putin from drowning.

美国总统奥巴马正式回应了！虽然俄美两国着自冷战以来东西方最严重的冲突，但奥巴马还是表示如果俄罗斯总统普京溺水，他一定会救的。

Obama on Friday delivered his answer to a question posed to Putin during a live television appearance earlier this month -- would his US rival come to his rescue?

本月早些时候，普京总统在参加一次电视直播活动的时候遭遇这样的提问：“如果你掉到水里，奥巴马会救你吗？” 本周五，奥巴马总统也给出了自己的回应。

Putin answered by saying that though he did not have a special personal relationship with Obama he thought the US leader was "a decent and brave person." "And of course, he would."

普京总统当时的回答是，自己虽然和奥巴马没有非常密切的私人关系，但奥巴马是个“勇敢的正派人” ，所以“当然会救我”。

In a rare moment of humour at an alarming moment of the Ukraine crisis, Obama confirmed he would indeed throw the Russian leader a lifeline, when questioned by a US journalist.

俄美双方因为乌克兰局势关系紧张，在这样的情况下奥巴马总统还是表示了自己的幽默。当被一位美国记者问到这个问题时，奥巴马证实自己会救俄罗斯领导人普京。

"I absolutely would save Mr Putin if he were drowning," Obama said. "If anybody is out there drowning, I would save them. "

“如果普京溺水，我绝对会救他，” 奥巴马说，“任何人溺水我都会施救。”

"I used to be a pretty good swimmer, I grew up in Hawaii," Obama said, before adding with a rueful smile: "I am a little bit out of practice."

“我从前是个游泳好手，我在夏威夷长大，” 奥巴马这样回答道，但他又带着略抱憾的微笑补充说：“不过我有点疏于练习了。”

Even before the Ukraine showdown, Putin and Obama had a difficult relationship and had endured several photo-ops after summits noted¹ for stilted² body language.

不过就算是在乌克兰一触即发的局势之前，普京和奥巴马两位总统的关系也不太好，在几次峰会拍到的合照都可以看到姿势僵硬。