土耳其击落俄军机 叙利亚问题角力升级

Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet yesterday after it veered into its airspace for 17 seconds, a long-feared clash that starkly demonstrated the dangers to international security in Syria’s war.

土耳其昨日击落一架进入其领空17秒的俄罗斯战斗机，这是外界一直担心发生的擦枪走火事件，暴露了叙利亚战争给国际安全带来的危险。

President Vladimir Putin of Russia warned that the “tragic incident” would bring “serious consequences” for Turkey, following Russia’s first loss of life in a military engagement with a Nato country since the cold war.

俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京(Vladimir Putin)警告，这起“悲剧性事件”将给土耳其带来“严重后果”。这起事件标志着冷战结束以来俄罗斯首次在与北约国家的军事行动中有人员丧生。

In a sign that the incident might jeopardise greater co-operation over Syria, Mr Putin went on to accuse Ankara of providing financial and military support to jihadi extremists, asking: “Do they want to put Nato at Isis’s service?”

突显这起事件可能危及各方在叙利亚问题上展开更大合作的一个迹象是，普京进而指控安卡拉方面向圣战极端分子提供财务和军事支持。他问道：“难道他们希望让北约为ISIS服务吗？”

A visibly angry Mr Putin told state TV: “Today’s loss is a stab in the back by the accomplices of terrorism. We have always treated Turkey as a friendly state. I don’t know in whose interests today’s incident is, but it’s not in ours.”

明显愤怒的普京对官方电视台表示：“今天的损失是恐怖主义的同伙在背后捅刀子。我们一直把土耳其当作一个友好国家对待。我不知道今天的事件符合哪一方的利益，但肯定不符合我方利益。”

President Barack Obama said Turkey “has the right to defend its territory and airspace” but also called on both countries to de-escalate.

美国总统巴拉克·奥巴马(Barack Obama)表示，土耳其“拥有保卫其领土和领空的权利”，但他也呼吁两国不要让事件升级。

The US president said “Russia is the outlier” in the fight against Isis. While the US had assembled a coalition of 65 countries to take on the group, Russia was in a “coalition of two” with Iran.

美国总统表示，在打击“伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯兰国”(ISIS)的战斗中，“俄罗斯是外围力量”。美国组建了有65个国家的联盟与该组织作战，而俄罗斯只是与伊朗组成了“两国联盟”。

But he added that the US was prepared to work more closely with Russia if it made a “strategic shift” and focused its efforts on Isis. “We may differ with Russian policy elsewhere but we should be able to agree that we are all working to defeat Isis,” Mr Obama said.

但他补充说，如果俄罗斯作出“战略转变”，专注于打击ISIS，美国准备与俄罗斯展开更密切合作。“我们可能在其他地方与俄罗斯的政策存在分歧，但我们应当能够同意，我们都在致力于打败ISIS，”奥巴马表示。

The downing of the Russian plane rattled European markets. The Turkish lira dropped 0.9 per cent against the US dollar, and the Istanbul equity market lost 1.6 per cent. Russian stocks fell, having risen sharply the day before, while the rouble was flat.

俄罗斯飞机被击落的消息惊吓了欧洲市场。土耳其里拉兑美元汇率下跌0.9%，伊斯坦布尔股市下跌1.6%。前一天大幅上涨的俄罗斯股市下跌，而卢布汇率持平。

Oil prices gained more than 2.3 per cent after Mr Putin’s comments, with Brent crude, the international benchmark, hitting $45.80.

普京表态后，油价上涨逾2.3%，国际基准布伦特(Brent)原油达到每桶45.80美元。