There are many situations in which apologies are not necessary, because both sides agree to move on. And “non-apology apologies” – for example, “I’m sorry if you feel I have offended you” – are often worse than nothing, although they are a familiar diplomatic stock-in-trade of which I, too, have been guilty of using.
有很多情况其实无需道歉，因为双方都同意继续向前走。而且“不是道歉的道歉“——比方说，“我很抱歉你觉得我得罪了你”——往往比不道歉还糟，虽然它们是惯用的外交伎俩，而且这样的方法其实我也用过。