Foreign Minister João Gomes Cravinho revealed on Monday that he had a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart last Friday in which the ruler “strongly” denied that Iran had sold drones to Russia.
Speaking to journalists in Luxembourg after the Foreign Affairs Council, João Gomes Cravinho said that the Iranian minister gave the same guarantee to Josep Borrel, but even so, the European Union is “seeking information” on the use of Iranian-made drones. in Ukraine. by the Russian armed forces in recent days, and if the accusations made by the Ukrainian authorities are confirmed to be true, there will be consequences.
“We are investigating, but naturally, if it turns out that the Iranian drones were sold to Russia after February 24, there will be more sanctions against Iran,” the Portuguese official warned.
This Monday, at least three people died and three people were injured after the explosions caused by kamikaze drones that hit the city of kyiv in the morning.
João Gomes Cravinho also said that an “important decision” related to a military training mission to support Ukraine was taken at the meeting with the EU foreign ministers. “Portugal will also participate, as well as other European countries,” the minister said, noting that the mission will be based in Germany and Poland.
In response to journalists, João Gomes Cravinho recalled that “there are new Ukrainian soldiers who are entering the service and who need training and there will also be a need for specialized training in the use of certain types of equipment.”
“What is planned is the trip of Ukrainian soldiers to Poland and Germany for specific short-term training”, also stipulating “the participation of Portuguese soldiers in these actions, as well as the participation of Ukrainian soldiers in training activities in Portugal, namely in tanks”, this latest action is already within the scope of another bilateral initiative, said the minister.
According to João Gomes Cravinho, the EU is now “in the process of organizing the training mission and what there is, on the Portuguese side, is the will” to participate in the initiative. “In the next few days, the Ministry of Defense will be able to give details,” concluded the head of Portuguese diplomacy.
At the same time, in this meeting “there was a consensus around the three fundamental issues for Ukraine, that is, the continuation of very strong and broad military support”, with the Ukrainian minister – who participated in the meeting from a bunker – particularly asking for air defense support. The intensification of sanctions against Russia and the continuation of the work of the International Criminal Court to “investigate all war crimes” were other points of consensus.
Still on Iran, “a package of sanctions was approved for those responsible for the repression, particularly against women, resulting from legitimate demonstrations” in that country, said Gomes Cravinho.
Source: TSF
