默克尔指责普京制造"麻烦"

Angela Merkel, German chancellor, yesterday delivered a sweeping criticism of President Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine crisis, warning that Russia was “creating problems” in Moldova and Georgia, and trying to make some Balkan states “politically and economically dependent”.

德国总理安格拉•默克尔(Angela Merkel)昨日就乌克兰危机猛烈抨击了俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔•普京(Vladimir Putin)。她警告称，俄罗斯正在摩尔多瓦和格鲁吉亚“制造麻烦”，并试图让一些巴尔干半岛国家“在政治上和经济上依赖俄罗斯”。

Ms Merkel’s comments, in a German newspaper interview, were published just as France’s President François Hollande was meeting Mr Putin in an effort to defuse tensions.

在默克尔接受一家德国报纸采访，发表上述言论之际，法国总统弗朗索瓦•奥朗德(François Hollande)却与普京会晤，以期缓和紧张关系。

Asked about the risk of war between Russia and the west over the Baltic states, where Moscow has in recent weeks unnerved residents with military flights and other aggressive acts, the chancellor struck a reassuring tone.

在被问及俄罗斯与西方围绕波罗的海国家开战的风险时，默克尔的回答令人放心。莫斯科最近几周出动的军事飞机和其他激进举措让那里的居民们感到不安。

“The question of war in the Baltic states does not arise,” she told Die Welt am Sonntag newspaper. “Nevertheless, Article 5 of the Nato treaty, that is the obligation of mutual support, applies to all allies.”

她向德国《周日世界报》(Die Welt am Sonntag)表示：“波罗的海国家并未出现战争问题，然而，北约(Nato)协定第5条款适用于所有盟国，即各成员国负有相互支持的义务。”

The interview was published yesterday, a day after Mr Hollande made an unannounced stop in Moscow for a two-hour meeting with Mr Putin at Vnukovo airport. The two leaders emerged saying they believed they could help resolve the Ukraine crisis.

上述采访文章是在昨日发表的，此前一天，法国总统奥朗德在外出访问期间出人意料地经停莫斯科，与普京在伏努科沃机场举行了两小时会谈。两位领导人结束会谈后表示，相信他们可以帮助解决乌克兰危机。

Paris said yesterday that Mr Hollande later spoke on the telephone with Ms Merkel and Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko.

法国政府昨日表示，奥朗德后来与默克尔和乌克兰总统彼得罗•波罗申科(Petro Poroshenko)分别通了电话。

Few details of the France-Russian encounter were released but Mr Putin said afterwards: “The discussion we have [ . . . ] is producing some positive results.”

法俄双方没有透露多少此次会晤的细节，但普京后来表示：“我们的讨论……正产生一些积极的结果。”

The contrast between the French and German approaches reflects the competing impulses within Europe as member states struggle to deal with Mr Putin. Even within national governments, there is a debate about whether to take a softer or harder line against Moscow to persuade Mr Putin to curb his support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.

法德两国截然不同的态度，反映了欧洲各国在与普京打交道方面彼此竞争的冲动。甚至在各国政府内部，就采取怀柔还是强硬手段以促使普京收敛对乌克兰东部分裂主义叛军的支持也争论不休。

Mr Hollande’s visit was also shadowed by the added drama surrounding two warships the French have so far refused to deliver to Moscow because of the crisis — an awkward stance for Paris that could force the government to repay Moscow and also hurt its reputation as a military supplier.

奥朗德的访问也因两艘军舰的事情而蒙上阴影。由于乌克兰危机，法国迄今拒绝向莫斯科交付这两艘军舰，这对巴黎来说有些尴尬，可能迫使法国政府向莫斯科偿还相关款项，也会损害其军事供应商的名誉。

Both Moscow and Kiev made comments over the weekend about holding talks in Minsk tomorrow to try to achieve a definitive ceasefire after repeatedly violating a pact agreed in September.

各方将于明日在明斯克举行谈判，以努力促成最终的停火，此前在9月达成的停火协定被屡次违背。莫斯科和基辅周末均就明日的谈判发表了评论。