President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said this Wednesday that Portugal and Latvia together “fully support” the political, military and financial Ukraine, “strengthening it even more if necessary”, while also condemning the “brutal Russian aggression”.
The head of state spoke at the Sala das Bicas of the Belem Palace in Lisbon, together 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 stressed that Portugal has participated in air policing missions in the Baltic States and understands their need for “a permanent and consistent political and military response capability with the effective participation of NATO allies”.
“You can count on Portugal, on our Armed Forces, with the same competence, dedication and efficiency with which they have carried out their mission with pride more than once in recent years,” he said in front of Egils Levits.
At the bilateral level, the President of the Republic mentioned that on Thursday Portugal and Latvia would sign a “memorandum and agreement on deepening cooperation in the financial sector, as well as science, technology, energy, digital technologies.”
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa praised the “brave people” of Latvia and President Egils Levits for the “very smart and very wise, courageous, but at the same time very rational presence” he had at the meetings of the Arraiolos group, which brings together executive presidents from countries European Union.
The heads of the two states made statements to the media, after which there was no right to ask questions.
“There are obvious commonalities in our view of Europe and the world. First, we resolutely reiterate our condemnation of Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine, as well as war crimes and violations of international law and the UN Charter, in particular since February 2022, thus sacrificing the courageous Ukrainian people,” Marcelo said. Rebelo de Souza.
“Secondly, we confirm and share this point of view: our all-round diplomatic, political, humanitarian, military and financial support for Ukraine, if necessary, its further strengthening,” he continued.
According to the head of the Portuguese state, both sides 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.” Ukraine and, moreover, for European integration.”
As for integration into the European Union, “thinking not only about Ukraine or Moldova, but also about the Western Balkans”, the president of the republic added that “it must be prepared in order to be a real success.”
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stressed the commitment of Portugal and Latvia to the European Union and NATO, once again welcomed Finland’s entry into the Atlantic Alliance and reaffirmed Sweden’s desire to join the allies, “the sooner the better.”
Regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the head of state credited Portugal internationally with the role of “engaging other countries and raising awareness of this global war.”
In his opinion, there are countries that, due to their remoteness, view this war “as a European conflict” and “do not understand how important it is to have this global vision.”
“I’m talking about African countries, the 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.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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