Defense Minister Helena Carreiras emphasized this afternoon the “great national consensus” on Portuguese aid to Ukraine. Therefore, she believes that the current political crisis will not affect the commitments the country has made. Helena Carreiras spoke in Brussels on Tuesday, at the end of the meeting of defense ministers, where she left a “message of continued support for Ukraine”.
“It is work that will continue from a longer-term perspective,” the minister said, ensuring that Portugal would follow “other countries” in promising long-term support, “as also requested by the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, who participated in this meeting via video conference”.
The minister, who is taking part in a European meeting for the last time before the government takes office, also told journalists that she will “fulfill the mission entrusted to her until the end”. “I am Minister of Defense and I will remain there until the change of government,” she assured.
Asked whether restrictions during the government’s term could jeopardize aid to Ukraine, the minister assured that the “commitment will remain.”
“There is, as you know, a strong national consensus on our assistance to Ukraine. In general, we agree that it is something that needs to be done, we need to keep doing it. In fact, here, at this meeting of Defense Ministers, I ended by reaffirming our commitment to supporting Ukraine, (…) expressing our sustainability in the coalitions in which we find ourselves, supporting Ukraine”, he claimed.
The minister also spoke of the European Union’s goal of supplying “one million” artillery ammunition to Ukraine. According to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, this target will not be achieved, as only a quarter of the target is currently achieved.
Helena Carreira admitted that ‘more could have been done’ at European level to secure the necessary order contracts. However, the minister thinks that the goal could already be achieved by next spring, although she admits that “no one can guarantee that”.
Source: DN
