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Increasingly divided EU ministers failed to issue a specific threat of further economic sanctions against Russia on Thursday, despite fears that the conflict in Ukraine was entering a dangerous new phase.
尽管外界担心，乌克兰冲突正进入一个危险的新阶段，但分歧越来越严重的欧盟(EU)外长周四未能就针对俄罗斯的进一步经济制裁发出具体威胁。
European foreign ministers held an emergency meeting in Brussels to determine how to respond to the collapse of a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, fearing that this weekend’s bombardment of the port city of Mariupol marked a dramatic escalation of the fighting.
欧盟外长在布鲁塞尔召开一次紧急会议，旨在确定如何对乌克兰东部停火协议流产做出回应，他们担心，上周末对乌克兰马里乌波尔港口城市的轰炸标志着冲突的严重升级。
However, diplomats in Brussels said it was increasingly difficult to preserve a united front among the 28 members of the EU, partly because of the recent election of a leftwing government in Greece which has vowed to act as a bridge between Europe and Russia.
然而，欧盟外长表示，在欧盟28个成员国建立统一阵线的难度越来越大，部分原因是最近希腊左翼政府在大选中获胜，该政府承诺将充当欧洲与俄罗斯之间的桥梁。
In a weak final statement, the ministers simply instructed the European Commission to undertake more preparatory work on loosely defined “appropriate action”. No deadline was given for this work to be completed.
在一份语气软弱的最终声明中，欧盟外长只是建议欧盟委员会(European Commission)就定义宽松的“适当行动”展开更多准备性工作。关于这项工作何时完成没有设定具体期限。
Earlier in the day, some nations had pushed for a more specific threat of “restrictive measures” against Russia — diplomatic code for sanctions.
当日早些时候，一些国家支持对俄罗斯做出更具体的“限制性措施”（这是指代制裁的外交术语）威胁。
Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, said European leaders would have a final say on how to interpret “appropriate action” against Moscow at a summit on February 12.
欧盟外交事务负责人费代里卡•莫盖里尼(Federica Mogherini)表示，在2月12日峰会上，关于如何解读对俄罗斯采取“适当行动”，欧洲领导人拥有最终发言权。
The difficulty in issuing a clear threat to Russia highlights the EU’s faultlines. Arriving at the meeting, Nikos Kotzias, the new Greek foreign minister, said Athens would work to prevent a “rift between the European Union and Russia”.
难以对俄罗斯发出明显威胁突显出欧盟内部的裂痕。希腊新任外交部长尼科斯•考特奇亚斯(Nikos Kotzias)在会上表示，希腊将致力于阻止“欧盟与俄罗斯的分歧”。
His government, which came to power this week, had already expressed a “general reservation” towards EU measures aimed at expanding sanctions against Moscow.
本周上任的希腊新政府已表示，对欧盟旨在扩大对俄罗斯制裁的举措持“总体保留”态度。
EU sanctions imposed last year have targeted Russia’s energy, defence and banking sectors and have been seen as a critical factor in crippling Moscow’s economy, which has been weakened further by the collapsing oil price. Hawkish countries in the EU want more curbs on Russia’s access to international capital markets.
欧盟去年开始的针对俄罗斯能源、国防和银行业的制裁，被视为重创俄罗斯经济的一个关键因素，油价下挫又进一步削弱了俄罗斯经济。欧盟内部的鹰派国家希望对俄罗斯在国际资本市场实施更多限制。
Countries such as Britain, Sweden, Poland, Romania and the Baltic states also want a more specific timeframe for the imposition of new economic sanctions.
英国、瑞典、波兰、罗马尼亚和波罗的海国家等国还希望就对俄实施新一轮经济制裁制定更具体的时间表。
However, diplomats from this hardline camp said France, Italy and, to a lesser extent, Germany were guarded about a tough response to Russia.
然而来自这个强硬派阵营的外交人士表示，法国、意大利以及德国对于对俄做出强硬回应持保留态度，德国的态度更温和些。
In a largely symbolic move, the EU ministers agreed to prolong until September the blacklisting of Russians and Ukrainians seen as instigating the conflict. Asset freezes and travel bans against them had been due to expire in March.
在一项基本上属于象征性的举措中，欧盟外长同意将针对黑名单人士的措施延长至9月，针对这些人的资产冻结和旅行禁令将于3月到期。黑名单上的人均为被视作煽动冲突的俄罗斯人和乌克兰人。
Diplomats argue that the internal EU friction will make it far harder to renew the broader sanctions against whole sectors of the Russian economy when they expire in July.
外交人士辩称，欧盟内部分歧将令欧盟届时更难重新实施针对俄罗斯经济所有领域的较广泛制裁，这些制裁将于7月到期。
