The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, defended on Thursday that the war in Ukraine cannot be lost, as well as the war on climate action, which can be considered both urgent and a generational struggle.
The head of state spoke in the Senate Hall of the Assembly of the Republic, during a ceremony in which he presented the Council of Europe 2022 North-South Prize to the Association of Ukrainian Cities and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
After listening to the mayor of Mariupol, Vadym Boychenko, who accepted the award on behalf of the Association of Ukrainian Cities, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa agreed that “the war in Ukraine cannot be lost”, nor “nor in reconstruction”, and said that “you cannot trade values and principles for time”.
“Who better than this new generation of Ukrainians, with their allies, to achieve what is essential so that the war is not lost. A war is not only won militarily, but also on a human, social, economic and cultural level. And therefore This award is an award that signifies our solidarity, North and South, in the face of a war that cannot be lost,” he added.
Then referring to the prize awarded to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Jim Skea, the President of the Republic opined that “it is a prize for knowledge, pedagogy, but also for influence on the decision” regarding “ a new war that cannot be won.” being lost.”
According to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, “the war in the fight against climate change is one of those wars that are often forgotten in the urgency, in the urgency of the moment,” but which “also has concrete faces among the victims every day.” , in the victims of disasters that ravage the universe, sometimes imperceptible when they occur, but inevitable and inexorable.”
‘In both cases the decision is urgent. We have urgency regarding the reconstruction of Ukraine, the world has this urgency. We have an urgency to rebuild the world in the face of the devastation caused by climate change,” he stated.
According to the head of state, the war in Ukraine “is also a generational war, of a new world in relation to an old world, just as the climate war is a generational war, of a new world in relation to the old world.” an old world.”
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa called Portugal a country that “realized from the first moment the urgency of the war in Ukraine and the reconstruction of Ukraine” and that “was one of the pioneers, within the framework of the European Union and beyond, in climate action, in the fight for the energy transition, in the search for cleaner energy, in the sensitivity to set courageous, determined and undelayable goals.”
“That is why we are all here so mobilized for your wars, and we are sure that this award is a symbol of our common commitment, yours and ours, thinking about what unites us, and that is not only Europe, it’s not just the North. The South Dialogue is the affirmation of essential values for humanity,” he concluded.
Source: DN
