Carneiro would tell Rubio that country will always defend international law

Dafter making a communication at the commemorative conference of the 40th anniversary of the Master's in African Studies, at the Higher Institute of Social and Political Sciences (ISCSP), in Lisbon, José Luís Carneiro was asked about what he would say to Marco Rubio if he was with him on the visit to Portugal Thursday.

“That Portugal, as a medium-sized country, will always fight at the United Nations for peace, for the integrated and sustained development of regions and for respect for international law,” he said.

According to the socialist leader, there are very important issues in current international policy, immediately “peace in Ukraine, peace in the Middle East, the development of crises that have created serious difficulties in the economy and in European societies”.

“ But it is necessary to look at the medium and long term and understand that much of the strategic solutions for Europe’s future can be found in a more complementary relationship between Europe, between the European project and Africa,” he said.

For Carneiro, “Portugal can and should be the bridge of dialogue between Europe and the African continent and, in particular, the countries of official Portuguese expression”.

About 300 people gathered today in Lisbon to protest the visit of the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to Portugal, scheduled for Thursday.

The demonstration under the motto “No to the presence of Marco Rubio in Portugal”, which began at 18:00 at Largo de São Domingos, in Lisbon, was boosted by the Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation (CPPC).

Marco Rubio visits on Thursday Portugal to meet with the Portuguese authorities and “progress in cooperation on defense, economics and technology,” the US State Department announced last week.

In Lisbon, the head of U.S. diplomacy will have meetings with the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, and his counterpart, Paulo Rangel, with a joint press conference planned with the Portuguese Foreign Minister.

Before arriving in Lisbon, Marco Rubio was in Iceland and Greece. In the Greek capital, Athens, thousands of people went out on Tuesday to challenge the presence of the American representative in the country.

In May, Marco Rubio praised Portugal as an exception and an exemplary ally within NATO, alluding to the use of the Lajes Base in the Azores, which has deserved criticism from opposition parties.

The Portuguese Foreign Minister has reiterated that the use of the military base remains subject to conditions previously established by Lisbon, including the requirement that any action be a response to an attack, respect the principles of necessity and proportionality.

At the same time, Paulo Rangel admits the revision of the Lajes usage agreement, but only after the end of the conflict in the Middle East.

In June, Marco Rubio greeted Portugal as “one of Washington’s oldest and most faithful partners.”.