The Prime Minister of Sao Tome said this Friday that his country is independent and sovereign and that no one will dictate how it should treat Russia, ensuring that the military agreement signed will be in force and will be implemented.
“We are independent, sovereign, no one will dictate to us how we should treat Russia,” said Patrice Trovoada regarding the controversy surrounding the military-technical agreement signed with Russia, which was not disclosed by the executive branch.
The official Russian news agency Sputnik reported the signing of the agreement “for an indefinite period,” adding that the agreement was signed in St. Petersburg on April 24 and began to be implemented on May 5.
According to the Russian press, the parties agreed to cooperate in the areas of joint training of troops, recruitment of armed forces, use of weapons and military equipment, logistics support, exchange of experience and information in the framework of the fight against the ideology of extremism and international terrorism, education and training of personnel and provides for participation in military exercises.
On Thursday, Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel said Portugal had expressed “strangeness” and “concerns” to Sao Tome and Principe about the military-technical cooperation agreement signed with Russia.
“I think there is no reason to worry. This is a normal, normal agreement that exists with several countries and, above all, Portugal has no reason to worry,” reacted this Friday the Prime Minister of São Tomé, emphasizing that the archipelago has “old” and “deep” cooperation with Portugal.
Patrice Trovoada said that regarding Russia’s war with Ukraine, Sao Tome and Principe “were absolutely clear” regarding their position, and recalled that at one of the United Nations assemblies he himself gave “power of attorney to Portugal to vote on behalf of Sao Tome” . and Principe v. Russia.”
“Things are going well between Portugal and Sao Tome and Principe and, as they say, love is not just about saying I love you, we have already provided enough evidence of love,” said the head of the Sao Tome government.
Patrice Trovoada assured that the agreement came into force, as reported by the Russian press, on May 5, but will follow the internal procedures for its implementation.
“On our side, everything is clear, calm, and this is not an agreement that deserves so much controversy. The agreement has been signed, it has entered into force, then the agreement will go through a whole series of procedures to enter into force, so there are no contradictions here,” said Patrice Trovoada.
On Wednesday, the president of the Liberation Movement of Sao Tome and Principe/Social Democratic Party (MLSTP/PSD), leader of Sao Tome’s opposition, criticized the “secrecy” with which the government signed the military agreement with Russia, predicting consequences for relations with the European Union and the United States .
“This is an agreement for which we have never heard any statements from the Council of Ministers. An agreement of this magnitude, in a very sensitive area and given the global context at the moment, I think it requires interaction between the various sovereign bodies, that is, the government, the Presidency of the Republic and the National Assembly, for approval and ratification by the President of the Republic,” defended the leader of the opposition Sao Tome Jorge Bom Jesus.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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