普京承认克里米亚为独立国家.

　　The EU and the US has imposed sanctions on more than two dozen Russian and Ukrainian officials and readied more severe moves in the event of Moscow continuing to escalate the crisis in Ukraine after Sunday’s vote by Crimea to secede.俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔?普京(Vladimir Putin)星期一(3月17日)晚上承认克里米亚为一个独立的国家，以显示对美欧制裁的蔑视。仅仅几个小时前，美国和欧盟对俄罗斯政府一些高级官员刚刚实施了制裁。

　　Washington targeted seven top Russian policy makers, including some of President Vladimir Putin’s closest advisers, with asset freezes and travel bans, under an executive order signed by President Barack Obama. The EU took measures against 21 people, including 13 Russians.根据巴拉克?奥巴马(Barack Obama)总统签署的一项行政令，美国最初将对7名俄罗斯高层政策制定者(包括普京的一些最亲密的顾问)和4名前乌克兰政府官员实施资产冻结和旅行禁令。欧盟的制裁措施则针对21人，其中13人是俄罗斯官员。

　　But shortly bore the sanctions were announced, Mr Putin signalled he might be prepared to negotiate a diplomatic deal over Ukraine, possibly using Crimea as a bargaining chip.但制裁公布前不久，普京曾经发出信号暗示，他可能准备在乌克兰问题上谈判达成一项外交协议，届时可能利用克里米亚作为一个筹码。

　　Laying out Russia’s negotiating position, its foreign ministry published demands including military neutrality for Ukraine, a federal structure for the country giving more rights to its regions and Russian to be made a second state language.为阐明俄罗斯的谈判立场，俄外交部列出了一系列要求，包括：乌克兰在军事上中立;乌克兰实行联邦制，赋予各地区更多权利;俄语被确立为乌克兰第二官方语言。

　　Russia also said the will of Crimeans expressed in the rerendum should be respected. Results showed 96.7 per cent of voters in the Black Sea peninsula backed ceding from Ukraine and rejoining Russia. Last night Mr Putin signed a decree recognising Crimea as a sovereign state.俄罗斯还表示，克里米亚人在公投中表达的意愿应该得到承认和尊重。公投结果显示，这个黑海半岛96.7%的选民支持脱离乌克兰，回归俄罗斯。

　　The geopolitical showdown has sparked Europe’s biggest security crisis since the cold war. The US and EU had urged Russia and the pro-Russian leadership installed in Crimea in the presence of Russian troops, not to proceed with a rerendum they feared could undermine the respect for national sovereignty that has helped to preserve peace in Europe.这场地缘政治摊牌引发了冷战结束以来欧洲最大的安全危机。美国和欧盟此前敦促俄罗斯、以及在俄军存在的情况下新近掌权的克里米亚亲俄领导人不要举行公投，担心公投可能破坏各方对国家主权体系的尊重，而这一体系几十年来被证明是有助于维持欧洲和平的。

　　Markets reacted calmly. Russian stocks staged a modest recovery – in late-morning trading the dollar-denominated RTS index was up 1.4 per cent at 1,078 points, while the rouble-denominated Micex closed up 3.7 per cent. The gains came after the Micex had retreated more than 16 per cent over the previous three weeks.市场反应相对平静。俄罗斯股市出现小幅复苏。以卢布计价的Micex指数收市时上涨了3.74%，报1283.70。出现这一反弹之前，Micex在之前三周累计下跌逾16%。

　　How much scope remains for diplomacy will depend in part on whether Russia moves formally to annex Crimea.外交活动还有多大空间?这个问题的答案在一定程度上将取决于俄罗斯是否采取行动正式吞并克里米亚。

　　Mr Putin is set to address Russia’s parliament today.普京定于今日向俄罗斯议会发表讲话。

　　The White House said its “current focus” was on targeting particular individuals and their personal assets “but not companies that they may manage on behalf of the Russian state”.白宫表示，“目前的焦点”是针对特定的个人及其个人资产，“而不是他们可能代表俄罗斯政府管理的企业”。

　　Mr Obama said the global community would “continue to stand together to oppose any violations of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity”.奥巴马表示，国际社会将“继续站在一起，反对任何侵犯乌克兰主权和领土完整的行为”。

　　Russia proposed creating an international “support group” for Ukraine whose composition should be “acceptable to all Ukrainian political forces”.俄罗斯提议为乌克兰建立一个国际“支持小组”，其构成应当是“乌克兰所有政治势力都能接受的”。

　　The Obama administration did not immediately rule out Mr Putin’s proposed terms.奥巴马政府没有立即排除普京提议的条款。

　　Additional reporting by Neil Buckley in London, Guy Chazan in Simferopol, Peter Spiegel in Brussels and Roman Olearchyk in Kiev尼尔?巴克利(Neil Buckley)伦敦、盖伊?查赞(Guy Chazan)辛菲罗波尔、彼得?施皮格尔(Peter Spiegel)布鲁塞尔和罗曼?奥莱亚契克(Roman Olearchyk)基辅补充报道