叙叛军与俄罗斯秘密谈判

 　　Syrian rebels are in secret talks with Russia to end the fighting in Aleppo, according to opposition¹ figures, a development that shows how the US could become sidelined in some of the Middle East’s most pivotal conflicts.

　　据反对派人士称，叙利亚反政府武装正与俄罗斯进行秘密谈判，以结束在阿勒颇(Aleppo)的战斗，这一事态显示美国在中东一些最关键的冲突中如何可能受到排挤。

　　Four opposition members from rebel-held northern Syria told the Financial Times that Turkey has been brokering³ talks in Ankara with Moscow, whose military intervention⁴ on the side of President Bashar al-Assad has helped turn the five-year civil war in the regime’s favour.

　　来自叙利亚北部反政府武装地盘的四名反对派成员告诉英国《金融时报》，在土耳其的斡旋之下，他们在安卡拉与莫斯科方面谈判；俄罗斯为支撑巴沙尔.阿萨德(Bashar al-Assad)总统而进行的军事干预，使这场五年内战的战局朝着有利于现政权的方向转变。

　　Russia is now backing regime efforts to recapture the rebel’s last urban stronghold in Syria’s second city of Aleppo.

　　目前俄罗斯正在叙利亚第二大城市阿勒颇的战场上，支持叙利亚政府军夺回反政府武装占据的最后一块城市地盘。

　　The Russians and Turks are talking without the US now.

　　俄罗斯人和土耳其人正在没有美国参与的情况下商谈。

　　It [Washington] is completely shut out of these talks, and doesn’t even know what’s going on in Ankara, said one opposition figure, who asked not to be identified.

　　华盛顿方面被完全排除在这些谈判以外，甚至不知道在安卡拉发生了什么，要求匿名的一名反对派人士说。

　　US President Barack Obama’s administration has provided limited training and weaponry for the rebels but had been hesitant to give forceful backing that could turn the tide in the opposition’s favour.

　　美国总统巴拉克.奥巴马(Barack Obama)领导的行政当局为叙利亚反政府武装提供了有限的训练和武器，但一直不愿给予有力支持，使战局朝着有利于反对派的方向转变。

　　President-elect Donald Trump⁵, meanwhile, has repeatedly signalled willingness to back Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s efforts to shore up the Assad regime, arguing they are working to stamp out Islamic extremists.

　　与此同时，当选总统唐纳德.特朗普(Donald Trump)多次发出信号表示，愿意支持俄罗斯领导人弗拉基米尔.普京(Vladimir Putin)扶持阿萨德政权的努力，辩称他们正致力于消灭伊斯兰极端分子。

　　While the secret contacts are not the first time a rebel representative has met with the Russians, those familiar with the talks said it was the first time such a large number of opposition groups were involved.

　　虽然上述秘密接触并不是反政府武装代表第一次与俄方人员见面，但熟悉会谈情况的几名人士称，这是首次有多个反对派组织参与会谈。

　　However, the negotiations⁶ are riven by the tensions between Ankara and Moscow.

　　然而，这些谈判也受到安卡拉和莫斯科之间紧张关系的困扰。

　　Russia confirmed on Wednesday that Mr Putin spoke⁷ with Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the Turkish leader said he was seeking Mr Assad’s overthrow⁸.

　　俄罗斯周三证实，在雷杰普.塔伊普.埃尔多安(Recep Tayyip Erdogan)扬言要推翻阿萨德之后，普京曾与这位土耳其领导人沟通。

　　A Turkish official, who asked not to be named, said talks over an Aleppo ceasefire were derailed after Mr Erdogan’s comments caused a Russian delegation⁹ to abruptly¹⁰ cut off talks while waiting for Mr Erdogan and Mr Putin to speak.

　　一名要求匿名的土耳其官员透露，埃尔多安的言论促使俄罗斯代表团当场退出谈判，等待普京和埃尔多安交谈。这个节外生枝的插曲使阿勒颇停火计划落空。

　　Though the talks have made little progress, they underline the shifting political dynamics¹¹ in the Middle East.

　　虽然谈判进展不大，但它们突显了中东不断变化的政治动态。

　　Regional actors now seem more willing to bypass Washington to seek out pacts¹² with Russia, which is keen to develop the image of a rising power that can help broker² such deals.

　　该地区的各股势力如今似乎更愿意绕过华盛顿，寻求与莫斯科直接打交道，而莫斯科也热衷于打造一个不断崛起的大国的形象，能够帮助撮合此类协议。

　　The fierce Russia-backed aerial assault has nearly flattened¹³ Aleppo.

　　俄罗斯支持的猛烈空中打击几乎把阿勒颇夷为平地。

　　In the past week regime forces have made steady advances, capturing more than a third of rebel-held districts.

　　在过去一周，政府军稳步推进，夺取了三分之一以上的反政府武装控制区。

　　Yaser Alyoussef, spokesman for the Nour al-Din al-Zinki brigades, a rebel group, called the talks consultations¹⁴, not negotiations, adding they were ongoing¹⁵ but had so far been unsuccessful.

　　反政府组织努尔丁.赞吉运动(Nour al-Din al-Zinki)发言人亚西尔.优素福(Yasser al-Youssef)形容此轮会谈是磋商，而不是谈判，他补充称，会谈还在进行中，但迄今没有成功。

　　There are consultations with the Russians through Turkish mediation¹⁶ to calm things down and bring in essential goods into the city, he said.

　　在土耳其方面调解下，与俄罗斯人进行了磋商，以平静局势，使必需品能够运入该市。

　　Even if just a single bag of rice could come in.

　　他说，即使只有一袋大米可以运进来。

　　At this point everything is needed, from food and fuel to medicine.

　　眼下什么都是需要的，从粮食、燃料，到药品。

　　None of those who spoke about the talks would clarify if the rebels met the Russians face-to-face or indirectly¹⁷, with Turkish officials mediating¹⁸.

　　在介绍会谈情况的人士中，没有人愿意澄清叙利亚反政府武装与俄方人员是面对面交谈，还是通过斡旋的土耳其官员传话。

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

3 brokering   

v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的现在分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• Intertwined with these were rivalry, power brokering, and patronage. 然而也不乏有抗争、强权操纵与任命特权交织其中。 来自互联网
• Kingston Quest Can Assist Your Company In Negotiations, Brokering, Agency Services, Sourcing Factories Or Property. 金士顿追求，可帮助您的公司在谈判中，经纪，代理服务，货源工厂或财产。 来自互联网

4 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

9 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

10 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

11 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

12 pacts   

条约( pact的名词复数 )； 协定； 公约

参考例句：

• Vassals can no longer accept one-sided defensive pacts (!). 附庸国不会接受单方面的共同防御协定。
• Well, they are EU members now and have formed solidarity pacts with members such as Poland. 他们现在已经是欧盟的一部分了并且他们和欧盟成员诸如波兰等以签署了合作协议。

13 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

14 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

16 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

17 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

18 mediating   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的现在分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• So many factors are mediating. 如此众多的因素在起作用。
• The contrast in mediating noted in the sitting room. 客厅中注重了调和中的对比。