Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi rejected protesters' calls for him to step down, telling Egyptians in a late-night address that he is willing to give his life 'to protect the legitimacy' of the country's ballot box and Islamist-drafted constitution.

埃及总统穆尔西(Mohammed Morsi)拒绝了抗议者让他下台的要求。他深夜向国民发表讲话说，不惜以生命来捍卫埃及民主选举和伊斯兰主义者起草的宪法的合法性。

Without elaborating, he mentioned the possibility of parliamentary elections in six months, part of a list of proposals he said he would consider during talks with the opposition.

穆尔西提到六个月后可能举行议会选举，但没有详细说明。他说，若能与反对派会谈，这将是他考虑的一系列提议中的一部分。

Moments later, antigovernment protesters in four provinces across Egypt chanted against the president, calling for him and his Muslim Brotherhood-backed party to leave, according to live footage. Hundreds of thousands of protesters are estimated to remain on Egypt's streets, just hours ahead of the military's Wednesday deadline for Mr. Morsi to patch relations with the country's opposition.

从直播画面上可以看到，几分钟后反政府抗议者便在埃及四省高呼反对总统的口号，要求穆尔西及其受穆斯林兄弟会(Muslim Brotherhood)支持的政党下台。据估计，埃及街头仍有数十万抗议者，而彼时距离埃及军方要求穆尔西周三修补与反对派关系的最后期限只有几个小时。

Morsi supporters and antigovernment protesters clashed near Cairo University in the suburb of Giza late Tuesday, leaving at least four people dead, according to the Ministry of Health. The groups traded fire of rubber bullets and pellets in Cairo's Kit Kat district, according to residents and local media.

埃及卫生部表示，穆尔西的支持者和反政府抗议人群周二晚间在郊区吉萨(Giza)开罗大学(Cairo University)附近发生冲突，导致至少四人死亡。据当地居民和媒体称，双方在开罗Kit Kat区互射橡胶子弹和石子。

The Obama administration has used U.S. diplomatic and military channels to deliver quiet messages and warnings to Mr. Morsi and Egyptian commanders to try to head off the crisis and avert any military coup, according to current and former officials.

现任和前任官员表示，奥巴马政府已通过美国外交和军事渠道向穆尔西和埃及指挥官不事声张地表达了讯息与警告，让他们努力防范危机，避免发生任何军事政变。

Those moves come after Gen. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, the country's defense minister and the chief of the powerful Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, told Mr. Morsi on Monday afternoon that he had 48 hours to resolve the country's political crisis or risk having the military impose its own 'road map' to resolve it.

此前，埃及国防部长兼武装部队最高委员会(Supreme Council of the Armed Forces)主席塞西(Abdel Fattah Al Sisi)周一下午对穆尔西说，给他48小时来解决埃及政治危机，否则军方可能会依照自己的“路线图”来加以解决。

U.S. officials have told Mr. Morsi and his aides that they might want to consider options that include holding early elections or a referendum on early elections. But current and former officials say the U.S. hasn't pressured Mr. Morsi's government to choose any of these options.

美国官员对穆尔西及其幕僚说，他们可能需要考虑如提前举行选举或就提前选举进行公投等方案。但现任和前任官员说，美国未向穆尔西政府施压，要求其从这些方案中进行选择。

'President Obama has encouraged President Morsi to take steps to show that he is responsive to the concerns of the Egyptian people and underscored that the current crisis can only be resolved through a political process,' said White House National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan, denying reports that the U.S. was 'urging' Mr. Morsi to call early elections.

白宫国家安全委员会发言人米汉(Bernadette Meehan)说，奥巴马总统敦促穆尔西采取措施，以表现出他愿回应埃及民众关切的积极态度，而且奥巴马强调，眼下这个危机只能通过政治手段来解决。米汉否认了美国敦促穆尔西提前举行选举的报道。

'There is a state expecting me to uphold the legitimacy of this constitution. I have no choice,' Mr. Morsi said on state television, urging Egyptians not to resort to violence.

穆尔西在国家电视台上说，国家要我维护宪法的合法性，我别无选择。他敦促埃及民众不要使用暴力。

'When we call for jihad, we call for it toward the enemies of this nation. We never call jihad against one another,' Mr. Morsi said. 'I reiterate: If protecting the legitimacy [of the ballot box] requires my own blood, then I am willing to do this.'

穆尔西说，当我们呼吁圣战时，我们是呼吁向本国的敌人发动圣战，我们从未呼吁发动针对彼此的圣战；我重申，如果要我用自己的鲜血来捍卫民主选举的合法性，我也心甘情愿。

Mr. Morsi's own cabinet, in a message from its Twitter address, announced its rejection of the message that it said 'pushed the country toward civil war.

穆尔西的内阁通过推特(Twitter)发消息称反对这种说法，称这种说法推动埃及走向内战。

Mr. Morsi's opponents also accused him of deepening the country's crisis. 'By exaggerating and saying that he would sacrifice his own life, this is a clear incitement for violence,' said Khaled Dawoud, the spokesman for the National Salvation Front, the leading opposition political group.

穆尔西的反对者还指责他加剧了埃及的危机。反对派主要政治组织救国阵线(Khaled Dawoud)的发言人达乌德(Khaled Dawoud)说，穆尔西夸大其词称自己宁愿牺牲生命，这明显就是在煽动暴力。