President Marcelo has once again called for peace following missile strike in Poland
The President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, said today he is reassured by NATO’s explanations regarding the missile strike which killed two people in Poland yesterday.
The president also called for peace in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
“If what is the assessment made at this moment is confirmed, fortunately, we would be further away from the risk of an escalation of the conflict, which would mean the worsening of the existing war situation,” Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa told journalists on the sidelines of the celebrations of the centenary of José Saramago in Mafra.
For the president, “regardless of whether the missile is from A, B or C, it is essential that those who unleashed the war stop conducting war operations so that the possibility of moving towards peace can be studied.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that the Atlantic Alliance “is prepared” for incidents like the one in Poland, urging Allies to mobilise more air support for Ukraine.
After admitting that the explosion that killed two people in Poland “was probably caused” by a Ukrainian missile fired to defend Ukrainian territory against Russian cruise missile attacks, while still stressing that “it is not Ukraine’s fault”, the NATO secretary-general said that the Atlantic Alliance’s air defence systems “are set up to defend against attack at all times”.
Polish President Andrzej Duda today admitted that the missile that killed two people in Poland on Tuesday “was launched by Ukraine” but said there was nothing to indicate that it was an “intentional attack”.
Andrzej Duda said Poland would not invoke NATO’s Article 4, which provides for consultations between allies whenever the “territorial integrity, political independence or security” of any member state of the Atlantic Alliance is threatened.
Meanwhile, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has denied the claims.
“I have no doubt that it was not our rocket,” he said, adding that Ukraine should be allowed to access the site and be a part of the investigation.
The war in Ukraine was launched by Russia on February 24 this year when it invaded its neighbouring country.
The conflict has plunged Europe into what is considered to be the most serious security crisis since the Second World War (1939-1945).
Source: Lusa
