Santos Silva says Russian threats do not frighten Portugal | War in Ukraine
The Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, said this Tuesday that the threats from Russia do not frighten the country or intimidate Portugal, which is somewhat exposed to Russian gas and oil.
Santos Silva spoke to journalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Lisbon, this Tuesday receives the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Carlos Alberto Françawith the bicentennial celebrations of Brazil’s independence on the agenda, as well as the war in Ukraine.
“These threats [da Rússia e do Presidente Putin] they do not frighten or intimidate us. We work with our decisions in concert, either within the framework of the United Nations or within the framework of the European Union and NATO. [Organização do Tratado do Atlântico Norte – NATO]and to enforce these decisions that we make autonomously in the associations to which they belong”, he said.
Russia has drawn up a list of “is” countries, including Portugal, as a host European Union member, Australia with the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, among others, paying debts in rubles, a currency that has depreciated 45% since January.
On how the invasion of Russia, following the February 24th to Ukraine, Santos Silva recorded what were recorded as approved by the European Union, designated within the framework of the European Union (EU).
These differences, different, different, were approved in three, three, different, being, different, the economic nature, addressed to a set of Russian people and other moments of Russian people.
Facing an eventual cut in the supply of Russian gas and oil to Europe, Augusto Santos Silva recorded that for several years, Portugal, with its successive governments, has been doing its work “in the sense of making Portugal less dependent on fossil energy”. ”.
At the moment, of the electricity consumed in Portugal, 60% already runs from locally renewable energy sources: hydropower, solar wind”, he continued. Regarding gas and oil, the minister explained that Portugal imports them from “a diversified group of countries located in the Americas, Africa and Europe”.
“As a result of this diversification policy, our real exposure to Russian oil and gas is very low”, he stressed.
And he added: “We have no direct consequences, we are not a country with great exposure to energy from Russia. Part of an EU depends a lot, and within the EU we seek to assert the strategic importance of making Europe dependent on Russia in terms of energy”.
In this area, the minister said that Portugal’s strategy involves “diversifying the sources and routes of energy supply to Europe”, which “involves increasing interconnections between Portugal and Spain and between Portugal and Spain and the rest of Europe”. ”
“We at this point need to increase the gas we have from sources other than Russia. One of the two possible and feasible origins is the United States and African countries,” she said.
“The gas that comes comes by sea, in ships that dock in European ports, with the Iberian Peninsula having the most qualified to receive it, from deep waters (Sines). From Sines, gas can go by sea or by land. Overland needs a pipeline. At the moment there are gas interconnections between Portugal and Spain and we want to build a third one and we want there to be another connection between Spain and France, so that the gas that reaches Europe via the Iberian Peninsula can reach central and eastern Europe”, he said.
And he underlined: “In recent days it has become clear to many people that this is not about preparing for the future, it is about responding to our most immediate present”.
Russia at dawn on February 2, a flight of dead, of two dead, of two dead, of 80 wounded, of two dead, of two dead, of 80 wounded, of two dead, of two dead, of 80 injured, between the two dead, of two dead, of 406 dead, of two million, to neighboring countries. of the UN.
The Russian Invasion was condemned by the generality of the international community which responded with the sending of Ukraine and the judgment of Economic Armament by Mosco.