I understand they can use translator but then their are a few problems.
1. How do you know the translator tells the truth?
2. How do you know the translator made a correct translation?
3. The most important point, the translator is exposed the top secrets he should not know.
How they solve these problems?
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>How do you know the translator tells the truth?
There isn’t a single translator; each side brings their own translators.
>How do you know the translator made a correct translation?
I mean, you fundamentally don’t, but it’s language, not rocket surgery.
>The most important point, the translator is exposed the top secrets he should not know.
The translators are picked by their own governments, and part of their job involves security clearances.
The translators are not picked at random. They are thoroughly vetted to make sure they are trustworthy, capable and can withstand the extreme scrutiny necessary to obtain a high level security clearance. Each side has their own translator (or at least the ability to have their own translator), decreasing the potential for mistranslations (intentional or otherwise) or simply lying. It would require an extraordinary set of circumstances for anything nefarious to happen at these highest levels.
You have your own translator. He is a diplomat who is trusted at the highest levels. He translates into the other leader’s language. The other leader says something to his translator (a similar sort of trusted diplomat), who says it in your language.
And then, you have leaders who speak each other’s languages well enough that they can tell translators “that’s not what I meant” but as a matter of convention, they always speak their own languages in official meetings to avoid acting deferential to some other country. Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin were particularly known for this when meeting with each other.
>How do you know the translator tells the truth?
You bring your own translator that you trust. These kind of talks are important enough that you can’t risk it. Additionally your diplomats and ambassadors often speak the local language for a reason.
>How do you know the translator made a correct translation?
It’s pretty important that you bring a good one that not only knows the language, but understands the customs and dialects of the area.
>The most important point, the translator is exposed the top secrets he should not know.
The translator is part of your staff and has been vetted with the appropriate clearances.
> How do you know the translator made a correct translation?
Direct talks between national leaders don’t generally involve a lot of detailed negotiation and are more focused on diplomatic niceties, so it’s not the end of the world if small mistakes are made. When countries make important agreements, the negotiations are done by people lower down the chain. They agree what language(s) the official text of the agreement will be in, and they will both have policy and international law experts who understand the relevant languages. They will repeatedly revise the text and hopefully deal with any errors or misunderstandings (there are conventions governing what happens if mistakes remain in the text, which isn’t unheard of).
> The most important point, the translator is exposed the top secrets he should not know.
Governments generally don’t give away their biggest secrets to foreign politicians anyway. They will probably have more trust in their own translators than they do in the people on the other side. When governments share secrets that are particularly critical (e.g. intelligence about an upcoming terrorist attack), that tends to happen directly between the intelligence agencies.
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