The president of the republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, said on Wednesday that Portugal and Latvia are together in “total support” politically, militarily and financially to Ukraine, “if necessary, to strengthen it even more”, and in the condemnation of “brutal Russian aggression”.
The head of state spoke in the Sala das Bicas of the Palace of Belém in Lisbon, along with his Latvian counterpart, Egils Levits, whom he received this Wednesday, at the start of his three-day state visit to Portugal.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa Stresses that Portugal has participated in air policing missions in the Baltic countries and understands their need for “a continuous and consistent capacity for political and military response, with the effective involvement of NATO allies.
“You can count on Portugal, on our armed forces, with the same skill, dedication and efficiency with which they have proudly carried out their mission more than once in recent years,” he declared for Egils Levits.
On a bilateral level, the president of the republic referred that on Thursday Portugal and Latvia will “sign a memorandum and an agreement to deepen cooperation in the financial economy, but also to reflect on science, technology, energy and digital”.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa praised “the brave people” of Latvia and President Egils Levits for the “very intelligent and very wise, courageous, but at the same time very rational presence” he had at the meetings of the Arraiolos Group, which brings together presidents and executives countries of the European Union.
The two heads of state made statements to the media, after which there was no right to ask questions.
“There are clear similarities in our view of Europe and the world. First, we strongly reiterate our condemnation of Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine, as well as war crimes and violations of international law and the United Nations Charter, in the special since February 2022, sacrificing the courageous Ukrainian people,” declared Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
“Secondly, we reaffirm and share this position: our full diplomatic, political, humanitarian, military and financial support to Ukraine, if necessary, to further strengthen it,” he continued.
According to the Portuguese head of state, both believe that the coming months “will be a decisive period in the war, and especially in Ukraine’s response, counter-offensives and the restoration of its territorial integrity – which is a precondition for effective national sovereignty. ” of Ukraine and, more than that, for European integration”.
As for integration into the European Union, “don’t just think about Ukraine or Moldova, but about the Western Balkans,” the president of the Republic added that “it needs to be prepared to be a real success.”
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa emphasized Portugal’s and Latvia’s commitment to the European Union and NATO, once again welcomed Finland’s entry into the Atlantic Alliance and reiterated its wish for Sweden to join the allies, “the sooner the better”.
Still regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the head of state credited Portugal with a role of “engaging other countries and raising awareness of this global war” at the international level.
According to him, there are countries that because of their distance see this war “as a European conflict” and “don’t understand how important it is to have this global vision”.
“I am talking about African countries, the Near and Middle East and other countries, but specifically these neighboring areas where Russian interventions are trying to weaken the southern and southeastern flanks of the European Union and NATO,” he said.
Source: DN
