土耳其擊落俄軍機 敘利亞問題角力升級

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.

土耳其昨日擊落一架進入其領空17秒的俄羅斯戰鬥機，這是外界一直擔心發生的擦槍走火事件，暴露了敘利亞戰爭給國際安全帶來的危險。

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.

俄羅斯總統弗拉基米爾·普京(Vladimir Putin)警告，這起“悲劇性事件”將給土耳其帶來“嚴重後果”。這起事件標誌着冷戰結束以來俄羅斯首次在與北約國家的軍事行動中有人員喪生。

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?”

突顯這起事件可能危及各方在敘利亞問題上展開更大合作的一個跡象是，普京進而指控安卡拉方面向聖戰極端分子提供財務和軍事支持。他問道：“難道他們希望讓北約爲ISIS服務嗎？”

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.”

明顯憤怒的普京對官方電視臺表示：“今天的損失是恐怖主義的同夥在背後捅刀子。我們一直把土耳其當作一個友好國家對待。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.

美國總統巴拉克·奧巴馬(Barack Obama)表示，土耳其“擁有保衛其領土和領空的權利”，但他也呼籲兩國不要讓事件升級。

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.

美國總統表示，在打擊“伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯蘭國”(ISIS)的戰鬥中，“俄羅斯是外圍力量”。美國組建了有65個國家的聯盟與該組織作戰，而俄羅斯只是與伊朗組成了“兩國聯盟”。

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.

但他補充說，如果俄羅斯作出“戰略轉變”，專注於打擊ISIS，美國準備與俄羅斯展開更密切合作。“我們可能在其他地方與俄羅斯的政策存在分歧，但我們應當能夠同意，我們都在致力於打敗ISIS，”奧巴馬錶示。

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.

俄羅斯飛機被擊落的消息驚嚇了歐洲市場。土耳其里拉兌美元匯率下跌0.9%，伊斯坦布爾股市下跌1.6%。前一天大幅上漲的俄羅斯股市下跌，而盧布匯率持平。

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

普京表態後，油價上漲逾2.3%，國際基準布倫特(Brent)原油達到每桶45.80美元。