On Wednesday, the President of the Republic refused to comment on the behavior of the soldiers who refused to board the ship Mondego, nor did he want to draw conclusions about the possible consequences of this case for the leadership of the Navy.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa answered questions from the media in the former royal arena, next to the Belém Palace, in Lisbon.
When asked if he believes that the Chief of Staff of the Navy, Henrique Gouveia e Melo, was weakened by this case, the President of the Republic and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces replied: “We are not going to talk now about what are the conclusions that the ongoing inspection or inspection will reach”.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who was immediately asked if he could not yet draw any conclusions on this matter, replied: “No, I will not, because if the investigations are currently ongoing, and in the disciplinary part, all military personnel involved will have to be heard.”
“Let’s hope”advised.
The head of state gave the same answer when asked by journalists whether the behavior of the naval personnel who refused to board the Ship of the Portuguese Republic (NRP) Mondego, due to lack of security, does not constitute disobedience to the hierarchy: “We hope”.
When asked if there could be dissatisfaction within the navy, the president of the republic pointed to the need to update resources in the three branches of the armed forces.
“No, I would say there are capabilities in the Navy, like in the Army, like in the Air Force, that are from the past, some more recent, some less recent, that need to be updated. And this update will now be more possible than before. it was in the near past,” he said.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stressed that he is waiting for the results of the ongoing inspection of the case that occurred on Saturday evening with the NRP Mondego, which failed to fulfill its mission to escort a Russian ship to the north of the island of Porto Santo, on Madeira.
When asked if he should explain to any of Portugal’s allies what happened in this case, the president of the republic replied: “No, not that I know of”.
Source: DN
