Paulo Rangel was speaking to reporters in Tokyo, where he will accompany Prime Minister Luís Montenegro on an official visit to Japan on Thursday and Friday.

The government's number two reiterated full solidarity with Poland, which today reported an incursion by Russian drones into its airspace, and formally requested an urgent consultation with NATO allies, invoking Article 4 of the NATO Treaty.

The article in question provides for consultations between the parties whenever one of the members of the defense alliance considers its "territorial integrity, political independence, or security to be threatened."

When asked if this process could be a first step toward a possible triggering of NATO's Article 5, which states that "an armed attack against a member state of the Alliance shall be considered an attack against all member states," the government's number two rejected this scenario.

"I say we must not ignore the degree of the threat, and I also say we must not exaggerate it to say that we are on the eve of Article 5. That is not what this is about, fortunately, but it obviously implies increased alertness and vigilance," he argued.