Portugal’s minister of defence, José Azeredo Lopes, was at Montijo air base in Setúbal district to see the force off.
“It’s a source of pride for Portugal,” he said of the country’s continued participation in the NATO-led mission in the former Yugoslavia. “This is an investment by the government in this force that has represented Portugal in Kosovo. It has had an exemplary role.”
Portugal’s contribution to the KFOR mission, as it is known, “shows the responsibility that Portugal takes on” the minister said. It is, he argued, thanks to the country’s participation in such missions that “we earn the right to demand, to participate in alliance systems and to have allies on our side.”
According to Lopes the situation in Kosovo is no less difficult and calmer than a few years ago, but there is as yet no end date for the NATO mission there.