Zelensky hopes to deepen bilateral relations with Portugal for “a lasting peace”

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, congratulated Luís Montenegro on Tuesday on his inauguration as Prime Minister of Portugal, saying he hoped for the deepening of bilateral relations for “lasting peace in Europe”.

“Congratulations to Luís Montenegro for taking on the role of Prime Minister of Portugal. I thank him for his integrity in recognizing Russian aggression and I look forward to further deepening of Ukraine-Portugal relations to restore a just and lasting peace in Europe,” wrote the Ukrainian leader on the social network X, in Ukrainian, Portuguese and English.

The publication coincided with the inauguration ceremony of the new Portuguese Government, late Tuesday afternoon, at the Ajuda National Palace, in Lisbon.

In his inauguration speech, Montenegro referred to the ongoing war, following the Russian invasion in February 2022, stating that Portugal will continue “to provide full support to Ukraine within the framework of the European Union and NATO”.

Inauguration of the new Government

The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, on Tuesday swore in the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, and the ministers of the XXIV Constitutional Government, in a ceremony at the Ajuda National Palace, in Lisbon.

In the Ambassadors’ Room of the Ajuda National Palace, 23 days after the early legislative elections of March 10, the head of state swore in the prime minister and then the 17 ministers of the minority executive formed by PSD and CDS-PP.

The XXIV Constitutional Government will be completed with the inauguration of the Secretaries of State, scheduled for Friday.

At Tuesday’s ceremony, which began at exactly 6:00 pm, the members of the new executive were called one by one, in hierarchical order, to take the oath and sign the instrument of investiture, a process that lasted around 13 minutes.

The new president of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, the outgoing Prime Minister, António Costa, and outgoing ministers from the previous Government, and the Attorney General of the Republic, Lucília Gago, attended this inauguration ceremony.