Prime Ministers of Portugal and Ukraine discussed humanitarian, military, and financial assistance

Prime Minister António Costa met with his Ukrainian counterpart, Denys Shmyhal, with whom he discussed the strengthening of humanitarian, military, and financial assistance "in the coming weeks, to respond to Ukraine’s needs, whether in military or financial terms", said the Portuguese Head of Government during a statement at the end of the video teleconference.

António Costa and Denys Shmyhal also discussed "Europe’s perspective of Ukraine and the strengthening of the sanctions to be applied by the European Union" on Russia. "Portugal has always supported the enforcement of sanctions", he said, adding that Portugal has an energy situation that leaves us comfortable to apply the sanctions on Russia regarding the import of oil and gas". 

However, "we know that unfortunately this is not the situation for all the EU countries and this matter must be addressed in a way that preserves unity, which is essential for EU’s strength in supporting Ukraine", he noted.

The two Prime Ministers also discussed "the effort that the EU and the US can make so Ukraine can export the goods of which the country is a major producer and of which most of the world, including us, are consumers, from fertilizers to grains", organising "a logistical operation that can break the blockage due to the Russian occupation and attacks on Ukraine’s ports". 

António Costa mentioned that the Ukrainian Prime Minister invited him "to visit Kiev and aI accepted", and a date was agreed on. During this visit, Portugal’s financial support agreement to Ukraine will be signed, under the IMF programme".  

Full solidarity

The Portuguese Prime Minister reaffirmed "Portugal’s full solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people" and recalled that Portugal was "one of the first to condemn in a clear and unequivocal manner the war that Russia waged on Ukrainian soil illegal, illegitimate and brutal, and demanded that peace be restored and Russia’s accountability be determined for war crimes, as well as the need for a very clear response by the international community to this war that has impressed everyone through its barbaric manner".

"The Prime Minister of Ukraine thanked Portugal for the humanitarian assistance, starting with taking in refugees, the military assistance and the financial assistance we’ve given", António Costa added.