The aggressive invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops in February 2022 marks a new low in the already-tense relationship between the EU and Russia. The horrendous attack not only brought widespread global condemnation, particularly from the EU27, but also a wide range of new sanctions against Putin’s regime.
As a NATO ally and European Union Member State, Portugal stands firm in its opposition to Russia’s war of aggression, a position already carved out by successive aggressive actions by Russia in recent years. Since 2014, the Portuguese position on Russia has been rapidly cooling, with the former Portuguese Minister for Foreign Affairs Martins da Cruz dryly noting, in the wake of the Skripal affair, “Russia is not at the top of the Portuguese political agenda”.
Whether left or right-wing parties are in power, Portugal seems to align with its American and European allies regarding Moscow. Precisely, how and why has the Portuguese position developed as such since 2014? What discussions are taking place regarding Russia in the Portuguese political sphere? And how has Putin’s war of aggression in Ukraine affected both the citizens’ and politicians’ views on Russia?
To explore these questions and more, TEPSA and its Portuguese Member Institute, the Portuguese Institute of International Relations (IPRI), organised “EU-Russia Relations and the War in Ukraine: from a Portuguese Perspective”, an online debate on June 30 at 10:00am CET.
The debate featured contributions from:
- Sónia Sénica, Research Fellow at IPRI-NOVA and CNN Portugal International Politics Commentator
- Helena Ferro Gouveia, LUSA Administrator and CNN Portugal International Politics Commentator
- Diana Soller, Research Fellow at IPRI-NOVA and CNN Portugal International Politics Commentator
“EU-Russia Relations and the War in Ukraine: from the Portuguese Perspective” analyses relations in the context of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, and of TEPSA’s upcoming book “EU-Russia Relations and the Future of Europe: Views from the Capitals”, published by Springer and edited by Michael Kaeding, Johannes Pollak, and Paul Schmidt.
