美国加紧施压俄罗斯从乌克兰撤军

The US demanded that Moscow pull its troops out of Ukraine after Vladimir Putin appeared to take a step back from deeper confrontation with the west, by saying Russia would use further military action only as a “last resort”.

美国要求莫斯科方面撤出其在乌克兰的军队。此前，弗拉基米尔•普京(Vladimir Putin)似乎后退了一步，以避免和西方发生更严重的对抗。他表示，俄罗斯将把采取进一步的军事行动作为“最后的手段”。

In Kiev, John Kerry warned that the US would isolate Russia “politically, economically and diplomatically” unless it withdrew the forces that have seized control of Crimea.

在基辅，美国国务卿约翰•克里(John Kerry)警告，除非俄罗斯撤出夺取了克里米亚控制权的部队，否则美国将从“政治、经济和外交上”孤立俄罗斯。

Washington stepped up pressure on Russia just hours after Mr Putin made his first public statement since Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich was ousted 10 days ago. He said the option of force remained open but would be a “last resort”.

华盛顿方面加紧对俄罗斯施压的数小时前，普京表示，不排除动武的可能，但那将是“最后的手段”。这是乌克兰总统维克托•亚努科维奇(Viktor Yanukovich)被推翻10天来普京首次公开表态。

President Barack Obama said the US and its allies had a “strong belief Russia’s actions violated international law”. He added: “I know Mr Putin seems to have a different set of lawyers with a different set of interpretations but I don’t think that is fooling anyone.”

巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)总统表示，美国及其盟友“坚信俄罗斯的行动违反了国际法”。他补充道：“我想普京先生可能有一套不同的律师班子，有一套不同的解读，但我不认为这会蒙骗任何人。”

Despite robust language there were signs that Washington and Moscow were seeking to de-escalate the most serious east-west tensions since the cold war. But illustrating the conflicting messages, Russia’s RIA-Novosti news agency last night reported the country had test-fired an intercontinental missile.

尽管言辞强硬，但有迹象表明，美俄正试图给冷战以来最严重的东西方紧张态势“降温”。不过，与此相矛盾的消息是，俄新社(RIA-Novosti)昨夜报道，俄罗斯试射了一枚洲际导弹。

Arseny Yatseniuk, Ukrainian premier, confirmed tentative contacts between his new government and Moscow, confirming remarks made by Mr Putin.

乌克兰总理阿尔谢尼•亚采纽克(Arseny Yatseniuk)证实，乌克兰新政府和莫斯科方面已进行了初步接触。此言证实了普京的话。

But in a sign that Moscow intends to put economic pressure on Kiev, Gazprom said it would raise gas prices to Ukraine from next month, after agreeing a 30 per cent price discount in December. Mr Putin insisted that the move was not political and that Kiev had not paid a $1.5bn debt to Gazprom.

但有迹象表明，俄罗斯有意从经济上向基辅方面施加压力。俄罗斯天然气工业股份公司(Gazprom)将从下月起上调供应乌克兰的天然气价格。去年12月，该公司曾同意给予乌克兰30%的价格优惠。普京坚持表示，此举没有政治动机，而且乌克兰尚未偿付其欠Gazprom公司的15亿美元债务。

The White House signalled support for Ukraine’s new leadership by saying it would provide $1bn in loan guarantees.

美国宣布将向乌克兰提供10亿美元的贷款担保，以显示对该国新领导层的支持。

Markets rallied amid signs of easing tensions, with Russian equities rebounding 5.3 per cent after the previous day’s 11 per cent slump, and the rouble gaining 1 per cent.

紧张趋缓的迹象推动市场反弹。俄罗斯股市在经历了周一11%的暴跌后，昨日反弹5.3%。卢布汇率走高1%。

Analysts said the tensions could still put pressure on the countries. JPMorgan cut its 2014 Russian growth forecast to 0.8 per cent from 1.9 per cent, and forecast Ukraine’s economy would shrink 3.2 per cent.

分析师表示，紧张的局势仍可能给俄乌两国造成压力。摩根大通(JPMorgan)将2014年俄罗斯经济增长预期从1.9%下调至0.8%，并预测乌克兰经济将萎缩3.2%。

Earlier, Moscow said it had ordered 150,000 troops involved in exercises close to Ukraine’s border to return to their bases.

俄罗斯早些时候表示，已命令其在接近乌边境地区参加演练的15万人的部队返回营地。