Tiago Petinga ; POOL/EPA
A two-day NATO meeting begins this Tuesday in Brussels, during which the Portuguese Foreign Minister will meet with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha.
Paulo Rangel wants to convey the message to the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii SybihaPortugal’s support for Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty.
The minister believes that the topic will occur in discussions over the next two days of the Organization’s meeting, but considers that, so soon, no immediate conclusions will be reached.
“I believe that the topic will always undergo a great debate between Member States and, therefore, this will certainly will not fail to be taken into account at this meetingwhich does not mean that the final solution is to achieve immediate accession”, said Paulo Rangel in Brussels.
“Later accession, with security guarantees in another scenario, is something that was never excluded by Portugal”, he added.
He explains what he wants to convey to his Ukrainian counterpart: “A first note is the total support for Ukraine, for defense of its territorial integrity and the idea that there cannot be a unilateral conquest of territory by force“, it says.
“A second point that I think is very important is collect some information and find out what the Ukrainian Government’s vision is, the situation on the ground, and how the future is envisioned, so that we can then position ourselves in the debates at this NATO ministerial meeting”, he concludes.
This meeting will be the first NATO meeting to be chaired by the Dutchman Mark Rutte and in which it will be present, for the first time, Kaja Kallathe High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
In addition to the transition that will take place at the beginning of next year at the White House, the topics should also include the War in the Middle East. Rangel highlights the presence of King of Jordan, Abdullah IIwhich is a “sensible voice” and moderate, with a vision that aims to “stop the conflict and be able to meet the humanitarian needs of people who are suffering”.
