Portugal’s Foreign Ministry regretted the “lightness” with which NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte characterised the country’s stance on the war in Ukraine. After Rutte said Portugal sees the Russian threat as “something distant,” the ministry led by Paulo Rangel stressed that Portugal, its government and its people “never had doubts about the right side of History.”

In a post on X, Lisbon’s diplomacy said the NATO chief “has an obligation to know which countries and governments stand firmly with Ukraine and know the Russian threat well.” “It is regrettable that the NATO Secretary General pronounces himself with such lightness on a matter of this seriousness,” the message concluded.

The government is thus answering remarks from 6 November, when Rutte, according to Lusa, told a Dutch broadcaster that Spain and Portugal consider the conflict “far away” and mainly a concern for Poland.

“Sometimes I tell our allies in Spain or Portugal, who say: ‘it’s far away, and what happens in Russia mainly affects Poland’,” Rutte said, adding that Russia’s newest missiles take only five more minutes to reach Lisbon than Warsaw.

In January 2025, after a working lunch with Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, Rutte had already warned that Portugal should not treat the Ukraine war as a distant conflict: “The Russian threat may seem far away, but I assure you it is not.”

The Foreign Ministry’s reaction does not announce a policy shift toward Ukraine; it is a public clarification against a NATO secretary-general formulation Lisbon calls wrong and too casual.

Source consulted: Rangel lamenta “ligeireza” de Rutte sobre posição portuguesa em relação à Ucrânia — PÚBLICO