Marco Rubio Visits Portugal, Citing 'Great Ally' Status

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Lisbon, Portugal, on Thursday, marking the final stop of a three-nation tour aimed at strengthening ties with NATO allies. Rubio's visit followed a speech in Athens, Greece, where he urged European nations to uphold Western values.

Rubio, who also visited Iceland at the start of his trip, expressed gratitude to Portuguese officials for their support of U.S. operations. This support includes allowing the U.S. to utilize Lajes Field air base in the Azores, a strategically located site for military refueling flights.

The U.S. Air Force has long maintained a presence at Lajes Field under an agreement with Portugal. This contrasts with Spain, where Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez reportedly denied the U.S. military access to Spanish bases for operations related to Iran. Portugal's center-right government, however, granted "conditional approval" for the use of Lajes Field.

"Portugal is a great ally, very cooperative ally of the United States and a country with which we already have a solid and growing relationship," Rubio stated before departing Athens. "And we visit these countries in order to reinforce those ties. That's the purpose of the trip."

Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel confirmed the approval, specifying that it did not encompass hostile actions contrary to international law. Government members indicated that Portugal was fulfilling its duties as a U.S. ally. Despite this, some Portuguese political parties have raised objections. The Left Bloc, a small left-wing party, filed a formal complaint, prompting the country's attorney general's office to investigate the lawfulness of the use of Lajes Field.

Portugal, a member of both NATO and the European Union, is keen to foster relationships with larger nations. The country allocates just over 2% of its GDP to defense, with plans to increase this to approximately 3%, including dual-use infrastructure investments. Portugal has around 25,000 military personnel.

Lajes Field, which has a runway capable of accommodating heavy military aircraft, was first used by the United States during World War II. A formal agreement for its use by the Air Force was signed after the war. Following the Cold War, the base's operations were scaled back, and it now primarily handles refueling for trans-Atlantic military flights. A previous Portuguese center-right government had also supported U.S. military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq.