Close link between country, Slovenia as NATO allies, partners in EU
The Slovenian head of state, Borut Pahor, is on an official visit to Portugal and was first received by the country's president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and then by the prime minister, António Costa.
The prime minister on Monday stressed the existence of a close dialogue between Portugal and Slovenia as allies in NATO and partners in the EU, after receiving the Slovenian head of state, Borut Pahor.
Borut Pahor is on an official visit to Portugal and was first received by the country’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
In the message he posted on the social network Twitter after the meeting, António Costa pointed out that this visit by the Slovenian President occurs “at a time when Portugal and Slovenia celebrate 30 years of diplomatic relations”.
“Portugal and Slovenia are today partners in the EU, allies in NATO and maintain a close dialogue to jointly respond to major global challenges,” the Portuguese prime minister wrote.
Earlier, the presidents of Portugal and Slovenia called for giving “space to diplomacy” to resolve the tense situation between Ukraine and Russia, stating that they had the same point of view on the matter.
“The solution must be, must be diplomatic. Diplomacy must be given space,” Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa told the media.
In the same vein, Borut Pahor said that “a peaceful solution must prevail” and that “diplomacy must have enough space to find the solutions that can resolve conflicts”.
The two heads of state argued that Ukraine’s sovereignty cannot be called into question, but Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa avoided speaking directly about the country’s possible membership in the Atlantic Alliance.
On this point, according to the translation from Slovenian to Portuguese, Borut Pahor considered that “Russia has conditions that the democratic world cannot accept” and that “Ukraine can choose its foreign policy as a sovereign state”.
The Slovenian President then spoke in favour of “dialogue with Russia” and a “collaboration between the EU and Russia that can last, extend into the future”, adding: “I hope that diplomacy will reach a solution that can preserve peace. The West has to have dialogue, I personally support that dialogue.”
“We recognise the values that are the values of international law, among them the sovereignty of states and their right to determine their destiny,” Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said in turn.
