U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Lisbon for the final stop of a tour of three NATO allies. He was expected to thank Portugal for allowing U.S. forces to use Lajes Field in the Azores for military operations.
Before arriving, Rubio described Portugal as a cooperative ally with which Washington already has a strong and growing relationship. In Lisbon, he first met Prime Minister Luis Montenegro at São Bento Palace. Neither made a statement to the media.
Portugal granted the United States conditional approval to use Lajes Field, an air base in the mid-Atlantic Azores that is strategically positioned for refueling military aircraft on transatlantic routes. Neighboring Spain refused U.S. use of its bases for operations against Iran. Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel said the authorization did not cover hostile actions that would violate international law.
The decision has drawn criticism in Portugal. After a complaint by the left-wing Left Bloc party, the attorney general’s office said it was examining whether the U.S. use of the base was lawful. Government members said Portugal was fulfilling its obligations as a U.S. ally.
Rubio’s visit followed stops in Iceland and Greece. In Athens, he urged European countries to defend Western civilization and the traditions of ancient Greece, and called on allies to be strong.
Portugal has fewer than 11 million residents and spends just over 2% of its gross domestic product on defense. The government plans to raise that share to about 3%, including through investment in dual-use civilian infrastructure. NATO says Portugal has about 25,000 military personnel.
The United States first used Lajes during World War II. Washington and Lisbon formalized the U.S. Air Force’s use of the base after the war. Its operations were scaled back after the Cold War, and it now mainly supports the refueling of military flights crossing the Atlantic.