歐盟邁出延長對俄製裁第一步
EU leaders took the first step towards extending their sweeping economic sanctions against Russia on Thursday night, agreeing that the measures would be maintained unless last month’s ceasefire agreement reached in Minsk was implemented in full by Moscow.
The communiqué, agreed on the first day of a two-day summit in Brussels, fell short of hopes from some hardline countries — and the summit’s host, European Council president Donald Tusk — for an immediate renewal of the sanctions, which are due to expire in July.
此次歐盟峯會在布魯塞爾舉行，爲期兩天。第一天達成的會議公報，沒有滿足一些立場強硬國家和歐洲理事會(European Council)主席唐納德•圖斯克(Donald Tusk)的希望，立即延長原定今年7月到期的制裁。But by tying the measures to the Minsk agreement, which among other things requires Russia to secure its border with Ukraine and hand over its control to Ukrainian authorities, officials believe extension is now assured since the Kremlin is not expected to live up to the agreement’s terms.
但是，把制裁跟明斯克協議捆綁在一起後，歐盟官員們可以認爲延長制裁可以確定的了，因爲預計俄羅斯不會履行該協議的條款。明斯克協議內容包括，要求俄羅斯確保俄烏邊境的安全，並將控制權移交給烏克蘭當局。
“Our common intention is also very, very clear,” said Mr Tusk at a post-summit press conference. “We have to maintain our sanctions until the Minsk agreement is fully implemented.”
“我們的共同意圖是非常明確的，”圖斯克在峯會後的一場記者招待會上說，“我們必須維持制裁，直到俄羅斯完全履行明斯克協議爲止。”The communiqué notes the Minsk agreement is not expected to be completed until December, sending a signal that the extension, once it is agreed, would be for six months rather than the full year of the original sanctions regime.
會議公報指出，明斯克協議將於今年12月到期，這對外發出一個信號：一旦各方同意延長制裁，延長期限將爲6個月，而不是最初制裁安排的一整年。The EU sanctions agreed in July include an arms embargo against Russia as well as a ban on selling the Kremlin sophisticated oil-drilling equipment, a measure aimed at degrading the ability of Russia’s energy sector to expand. Most importantly, it bars Russia’s largest banks from raising money on European financial markets.
去年7月達成的歐盟制裁包括，對俄武器禁運，以及禁止對俄出售先進的石油鑽探設備，以期削弱俄能源業的擴張能力。最重要的是，它將禁止俄羅斯的大銀行在歐洲金融市場上融資。
