The Minister of Foreign Relations, João Gomes Cravinho, greeted, this Monday, in Brussels, the “recapture of Kherson”, considering that it was a sign of “courage” on the part of Ukraine.
“The recapture of Kherson shows that the war is moving in the desired direction at this time, that is, with the recapture of the territories illegally occupied by Russia,” said the minister, considering that it represents “a moment of great importance.”
“The reconquest of Kherson has a high symbolic value and also a high military strategic value,” he stressed.
“I think this shows, on the one hand, the determination, courage and strength of the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian armed forces. On the other hand, it also shows that the support we are all giving, transatlantic and in Europe, to Ukraine, it is precisely the support that Ukraine needs”, underlined João Gomes Cravinho, convinced that “the setbacks for Russia will not stop here and, therefore, we view this moment with great satisfaction and optimism”.
The minister was speaking on the sidelines of a Foreign Affairs Council, in which on the 27th he formalized the procedures for a European mission to support the training of 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers, which will have the participation of Portugal.
At the end of the meeting, the head of European diplomacy, Joseph Borrell, also took stock of the European support, in terms of military equipment granted, so far to Ukraine, specifying that it already accounts for “45 percent” of donations from States Joined. , for an amount of “8000 million euros”.
sanctions
João Gomes Cravinho, who believes that “the sanctions had an impact on the results” achieved by Ukraine on the battlefield, announced that a new package could be on the way.
“Several countries have effectively developed a new package, I believe that this will happen, there have already been eight packages, surely there will be a ninth,” he said, noting that “the modalities that can be part of this package are still being discussed.” . “.
Broadly speaking, a new package of measures would include “sanctions on more people and more entities, including bank sanctions on some entities that are still in the Swift system,” Cravinho admitted.
Iran
European ministers also adopted sanctions against Iran, approving a list of 29 people and three entities following a vague crackdown by the authorities against the civilian population and the sale of kamikaze drones.
Despite the fact that the Iranian authorities deny it, João Gomes Cravinho affirms that the European Union has “strong reasons to doubt” Tehran.
“Iran has obligations related to the sanctions imposed by the United Nations not to supply military material to other countries and, therefore, it is already violating these decisions of the United Nations Security Council,” said the minister, recalling that “Iran began by denying flatly to provide drones to Russia”, although now “he already admits that, after all, he supplied, now he says that he only supplied ‘drones’ before the war”.
“We have strong reasons to doubt the word of the Iranian authorities and in relation to other possibilities, what we know is that we cannot rely only on what they say, we have to look at the evidence,” he stressed.
Source: TSF
