Portugal and Romania discuss Ukraine and cooperation between Defense forces – Observer
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The Minister of National Defense was invited this Monday with the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Romania to discuss cooperation between Defense forces of the two countries and the European Union training mission of Ukrainian servicemen.
This meeting was shared on the official account of the Ministry of Defense on the social network Twitter, and a photograph was published in which the Chief of the General Staff of the Portuguese Armed Forces, Admiral António Silva Ribeiro, appears alongside Minister Helena Carreiras.
According to the message, the “cooperation between the defense forces of both countries🇧🇷
It is noted that Portugal has military personnel in Romania “as part of NATO’s deterrence and defense efforts”.
“The European Union training mission for Ukrainian military personnel, in which Portugal participateswas another of the topics covered”, says the message.
Helena Carreiras had already stated that Portugal will participate “with up to 20 soldiers” on this EU military training mission to the Ukrainian army.
In October, 166 Portuguese soldiers from the 2nd Detached National Force left for Romania on a NATO mission in that country, which aims to contribute to the Atlantic Alliance’s deterrence and defense effort on its southeastern flank.
The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, communicated to parliament on this day that a visit is planned before Christmas to Portuguese soldiers from the National Detached Force who are participating in a NATO mission in Romania.
In the letter addressed to the Assembly of the Republic, the head of state and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces asks “the necessary consent” of the deputies for their “travel to Romania, on the 19th and 20th of December 2022, in order to visit, on Christmas Eve” the National Force Deployed in this country.
On the day of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, February 24, the Superior Council for National Defense met as a matter of urgency and unanimously gave its assent to the eventual participation of Portuguese military assets. in NATO readiness forces and the anticipation of sending Portuguese soldiers to Romania.
The plan for deployed national forces for 2022 already precedes the sending of a contingent of Portuguese soldiers to Romania in the second half of this year, as happened in 2021, but the departure was brought forward due to the context of war between Ukraine and Russia.
The 1st Detached National Force, made up of 222 Portuguese soldiers, left for Romania on April 15 of this year.
On May 19, the Prime Minister, António Costa, visited and spoke to 222 Portuguese soldiers at the Caracal Military Base, with the President of Romania at his sideKlaus Iohannis, and the Romanian Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciucâ, who thanked the presence of national troops in their country.