Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has approved a halt to all deliveries of Russian natural gas to Ukraine. Earlier, Ukraine shut all four of its pipelines that ship the fuel to Europe.
俄罗斯总理普京批准停止俄罗斯向乌克兰输送的所有天然气。早些时候，乌克兰关闭了向欧洲输送燃料的所有四根管道。
Prime Minister Putin's go-ahead to stop gas shipments to Ukraine was based on a recommendation from Gazprom chairman Alexei Miller.
俄罗斯总理普京基于俄罗斯天然气公司Gazprom董事长阿列克谢·米勒做出的建议而批准停止向乌克兰运送天然气。
Mr. Putin tells Miller that he agrees with his proposal, but notes the cutoff should be carried out as publicly as possible in the presence of international observers.
普京告诉米勒，他同意他的建议。不过他表示，切断天然气的输送应该在国际观察人员在场的情况下尽可能公开地进行。
Responding to questions from the prime minister, Miller said Gazprom has documented evidence that Ukraine caused the European shutdown.
在回答普京提出的问题时，米勒表示，俄罗斯天然气公司记录了乌克兰导致欧洲的天然气输送被切断的证据。
But there are discrepancies in the timeline. Ukrainian officials reported Russia ceased delivery hours before the Miller-Putin meeting. Kyiv says it was this stoppage that forced Ukraine to close the pipelines that supply Europe.
但是在有关的时间先后问题上存在不一致的地方。乌克兰官员在米勒与普京举行会晤几个小时前就报告了俄罗斯停止输送的事情。基辅说，俄罗斯切断天然气的输送迫使乌克兰关闭向欧洲提供天然气的管道。
Throughout the day Russian officials also insisted they had only withheld 21 million cubic meters, the amount of gas they allege Ukraine had stolen from Russia since the previous day.
在一整天的时间里，俄罗斯官员还坚持说，他们只扣留了2千1百万立方米的天然气。这个数量是俄罗斯指称乌克兰前一天从俄罗斯偷走的天然气。
The spokesman for Ukraine's Naftohaz gas company, Valentyn Zemliansky, told VOA the country's pipeline system was already being used to avoid shortfalls in eastern Ukraine.
乌克兰NOFTOHAZ天然气公司的发言人瓦兰亭·泽姆连斯基对美国之音表示，乌克兰的管道系统已经得到利用，以避免乌克兰东部出现供应短缺的问题。
Zemliansky says the Ukrainian system is not empty, because it is working in reverse, which means gas is being pumped out of underground storage tanks in western Ukraine and is being shipped to consumers in the eastern part of the country.
泽姆连斯基说，乌克兰的管道系统不是空的，因为它在反向运作，即从乌克兰西部的地下储存箱里向外运送天然气，运给乌克兰东部的消费者。
Ukrainian officials deny stealing Russian gas and say the country has enough reserves to last through April.
乌克兰官员否认盗窃俄罗斯的天然气，并且说，乌克兰的储备足以持续到4月份。
Gazprom's deputy chairman, Alexander Medvedev, warned about possible damage to the Ukrainian pipeline system. He spoke on Russia's Vesti-24 News Channel.
俄罗斯天然气公司的副总裁阿列克山德尔·梅德维杰夫对乌克兰管道系统可能造成的损害提出了警告。
Medvedev says if gas does not flow through the system in cold weather, it could stop altogether because of hydraulic blockages. He says removing the blockages entails very serious operations, including cutting new taps in the pipe.
梅德维杰夫说，如果在很冷的天气里天然气不从管道里经过，水力冲击造成的堵塞会使得管道系统完全停止运行。他说，消除这些堵塞是一个很艰巨的工程，包括在管道上开凿新的旋塞。
But Naftohaz gas company spokesman Zemliansky rejects Medvedev's statement as fear-mongering aimed at individuals who do not know pipeline technology. He told VOA the system will remain viable under any circumstances, even if the gas runs out completely.
不过，NOFTOHAZ天然气公司的发言人泽姆连斯基把梅德维杰夫的声明看作是对那些不懂管道技术的人们散布恐惧。他对美国之音表示，这个系统不管在任何情况下都能运转，即使是在完全没有天然气的情况下。
Ukraine says it had been forced to use reserves to maintain the pressure needed to move gas to European consumers before the valves were closed.
乌克兰说，他们被迫动用天然气储备来维持管道阀门被关闭前向欧洲的顾客运送天然气所必需的压力。
Shortages are being felt as far downstream as France and Germany. Complete halts were reported in Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Croatia, Serbia and Turkey.
供应的短缺在远到法国和德国的地方都感受到。保加利亚、希腊、马其顿、罗马尼亚、克罗地亚、塞尔维亚和土耳其的一些地方出现了天然气供应完全停止的情况。
Subzero temperatures throughout much of Europe is increasing demand for gas, and several governments have issued calls for conservation. While many countries have reserves or alternative sources, Bulgaria relies heavily on Russian gas and the country's president, Georgi Parvanov, says it could restart one of its nuclear reactors, which the European Union had previously deemed unsafe.
欧洲大部分地区出现的零度以下的气温增加了对天然气的需求。很多政府都呼吁节省天然气的使用。尽管很多国家有天然气储备或是其他的来源，保加利亚严重依赖俄罗斯的天然气。保加利亚总统珀尔瓦诺夫说，他们可能重新启动一个核反应堆，这些核反应堆在早些时候被欧盟认为是不安全的。
Russia and Ukraine are expected to hold face-to-face talks Thursday aimed at resolving the situation.
预计俄罗斯和乌克兰星期四会举行面对面的会谈，来解决这个问题。
The European Union is calling for immediate resumption of all gas deliveries.
欧盟呼吁立即恢复所有的天然气输送。
President Yushchenko expressed extreme concern over the situation in telegrams to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso. Prime Minister Putin has made his own appeals to Europe through Alexei Miller, ordering the Gazprom chairman to show Russia's gas contracts with Ukraine to EU officials in Brussels.
乌克兰总统尤先科在向俄罗斯总统梅德维杰夫和欧盟委员会主席巴罗佐发送的电报中对目前的情况表达了严重的关切。俄罗斯总理普京通过俄罗斯天然气公司的董事长米勒向欧洲发出了他自己的呼吁，并且要求米勒向布鲁塞尔的欧盟官员出示俄罗斯同乌克兰签署的天然气合同。
State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack issued a statement Tuesday calling the gas cutoffs unacceptable, and expressing regret over dispute. McCormack notes the episode underscores the critical need to diversify sources of natural gas, as well as other energy sources.
美国国务院发言人麦科马克星期二发表了一份声明，称天然气被切断是不可接受的，并且对俄罗斯和乌克兰之间出现争端表示遗憾。麦科马克指出，这起事件强调了将天然气供应管道以及其他能源来源多元化的必要性。 |