US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Portugal on Thursday for the final stop of his tour of three NATO allies.
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The visit comes a day after he urged European countries to preserve Western civilisation by upholding the values and traditions of ancient Greece during a speech in Athens.
“Portugal is a great ally, very cooperative ally of the United States and a country with which we already have a solid and growing relationship. And we visit these countries in order to reinforce those ties,” Rubio said before departing Athens. “That’s the purpose of the trip.”
Rubio is expected to thank Portugal for allowing the US to use its Lajes Field air base in the Azores for operations linked to the Iran war.
On Saturday, Portugal’s attorney general’s office said it was examining whether the use of Lajes Field air base was lawful, following a formal complaint by the small left-wing party Left Bloc.
Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel said the country’s approval for US military operations did not cover actions violating international law.
Rubio also met Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro in Lisbon, but neither spoke to reporters.
Rubio praises Portugal’s defence spending
Rubio praised Portugal’s investment in defence, stressing that defence spending “is not a hostile act” and that NATO members must “be strong” and “have capabilities”.
“NATO exists, more than anything else, as a defensive alliance that acts as a deterrent against hostility, and it has served us well for decades. If we want it to continue to serve us, we must ensure that it remains strong,” he said.
Rubio also highlighted economic ties, describing Portugal as “the ideal gateway, from a geographical and economic point of view” for US technology companies seeking access to Europe.
He noted that US investors put more than $20 billion (€17.2 billion) into Portugal last year, while Portuguese companies invested over $2 billion (€1.72 billion) in the United States.
Rubio also praised Portugal’s efforts to combat drug trafficking, noting that Portuguese authorities, working with US agencies, have seized 200 tonnes of cocaine in recent years.
A long history of cooperation
Unlike neighbouring Spain, where Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez refused to allow the US military to use Spanish bases for attacks on Iran, Portugal has taken a more moderate approach, allowing Washington to use Lajes Air Base following the outbreak of the conflict.
The base was first used by the US during World War II, before Lisbon and Washington signed a formal agreement governing its use. Its long runway accommodates heavy military aircraft.
Scaled back after the Cold War, the base is now mainly used to refuel transatlantic military flights.
