The prime minister this Wednesday deemed it essential to hold Russia accountable for its military intervention in Ukraine and admitted that evidence of human rights violations discovered could amount to war crimes.
This position was taken by António Costa in his speech to the general debate on the second and final day of the Council of Europe Summit in Reykjavik, which focused on the Russian military intervention in Ukraine.
In his speech, the prime minister stressed that Portugal is “on the side of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people” and promised that this support will continue “as long as it takes”.
The leader of the Portuguese executive later condemned the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces, even raising the possibility of crimes against humanity.
“As more evidence is uncovered of violations of international humanitarian law, which could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, accountability is essential,” he continued, after praising the Council of Europe’s performance on this war .
From the prime minister’s perspective, as a multilateral institution with 46 member states”the Council of Europe reacted swiftly to a situation so blatantly contrary to the organisation’s rules”.
“Excluding Russia from the organization was the right response,” he stressed.
In this contextAntónio Costa reiterated his support for one of the most important decisions of the Summit of Heads of State and Government in Reykjavik: the establishment of a register of damages caused by Russian forces in Ukraine.
“We welcome the efforts of the Council of Europe to ensure that these violations are held accountable and we fully support the registration of damages caused by the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine, to which Portugal has joined as a of the founders,” he emphasized.
Right at the beginning of his speech, the leader of the Portuguese government stressed that this summit of heads of state and government in the Icelandic capital, the fourth in the history of the organization, is of the utmost importance.
“Europe, and therefore the Council of Europe, are going through difficult times. The war has returned to our continent,” he said.
For António Costa, the Council of Europe remains “a unique organization that plays a crucial role”.
“It remains the go-to body and central political community on our continent for the advancement of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. And it is all the more important in the context of Russia’s relentless, unjustified and unprovoked war of aggression. against Ukraine,” he added.
Source: DN
