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NATO membership puts no limits on Portugal for military cooperation with Russia — envoy

An ambassador says the NATO membership does not limit the possibilities for Portugal to develop military and technical cooperation with Russia

MOSCOW, October 29. /TASS/. The NATO membership does not limit the possibilities for Portugal to develop military and technical cooperation with Russia, Russian Ambassador to Portugal Mikhail Kamynin told TASS on Monday.

"The NATO membership by itself does not limit the possibilities of sovereign countries to decide with whom to develop military and technical cooperation," the ambassador noted.

"A typical example is Turkey, with which Russia has signed a contract for the delivery of S-400 air defense missile systems," the envoy said.

As the diplomat said, several years ago Portugal was purchasing Russian military hardware and now it continues to cooperate with Russia in some UN peace-keeping missions.

"Several years ago, Portugal bought a batch of Russian-made Ka-32 fire-fighting helicopters. The Russian Navy ships regularly make business calls at the port of Lisbon upon approval from the Portuguese authorities for replenishing supplies and for refueling," Kamynin said.

"Specialists of both countries work side by side in some UN peace-keeping missions, specifically, in the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) and the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO)," the diplomat said.

"So, the way is open," the envoy said.