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Ukraine: Portugal’s military force are prepared for NATO deterrence missions

Photo by Antonio Pedro SantosThe Prime Minister confirmed today that Portugal has a military force that will be made available for deterrence missions, if that is the decision of the North Atlantic Council, but ruled out a NATO intervention in Ukraine.

António Costa was speaking at a press conference in São Bento, after a meeting with the Ministers of State and Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, of National Defence, João Gomes Cravinho, and with the Chief of Staff General of the Armed Forces, Admiral Silva Ribeiro.

This meeting was intended to prepare the Superior Council for National Defense, convened by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

The Prime Minister signaled that the North Atlantic Council meeting of ambassadors will define “the measure of deterrent forces commitment that NATO will adopt to protect all member countries of the Atlantic Alliance that border Ukraine, or in the vast region stretching from Iceland to Turkey”.

“As is well known, Portugal is part of the NATO rapid reaction forces this year and within this framework we have a set of elements that are available, and the five-day readiness if that is the decision of the North Atlantic Council, under the orders of the NATO command to carry out these deterrence missions,” he said.

However, immediately afterwards, António Costa stressed that “NATO will not intervene or act in Ukraine”.

“And the position that NATO will have and in which the Portuguese forces may be committed are deterrence missions, in particular with the NATO countries that border Ukraine”, he said, at the press conference.

Source Lusa