The President of the Government considered that the U.S. decision to reduce the military forces at Lajes Air Base throughout this year represents a "slap in the face of the Portuguese State," announcing that he requested urgent hearings with the President of the National Government and the Prime Minister.

"The outcome is already known, but now it is more important to move from words to deeds," said Vasco Cordeiro. The President of the Government spoke to journalists after the presentation of the conclusions of the report prepared by U.S. Department of Defence on the situation of U.S. military bases in European, which provides a reduction of 500 military personnel at Lajes Air Base.

For Vasco Cordeiro, "the information that this report contains about Lajes Air Base does bring good news and it is equally negative that this situation represents a slap in the face of the Portuguese State."

In this regard, the President of the Government recalled "all the diplomatic effort that was put in this process, the commitment taken by the National Government at various levels towards this matter and the continued availability conveyed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs two days ago to work with the USA for a positive outcome on this matter."

Following the presentation of this report, Vasco Cordeiro spoke with the mayors of Angra do Heroísmo and Praia da Vitória City Halls and has already requested urgent hearings with Cavaco Silva and Pedro Passos Coelho. In this context, the President of the Government reminded the recent declarations made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs about a possible negative impact on the relations between Portugal and the USA, depending on the outcome of this matter.

Vasco Cordeiro also defended that "the Portuguese Government cannot delay much longer the deployment of means that can help coping with the social and economic impact of the decision taken by the USA," stressing that the Portuguese State "should remind the USA about its responsibility to mitigate the social and economic impact of this situation."

"On the part of the Azorean Government, we have done everything and we will continue to do everything to defend the island of Terceira and the interests of the Azores in this matter," assured Vasco Cordeiro.

In statements made to journalists, the President of the Government also stressed the fact that, according to the report, Portugal is the only country that will suffer "a total and absolute loss," adding that "there will be a rearrangement of military forces in all other countries."

"Even if there is some loss, there is a rearrangement of military forces in Germany and the United Kingdom. Portugal is the only country where there will be a total loss of what we have now, as can be seen in the documents made public," said the President of the Government.

Despite the adverse situation, Vasco Cordeiro defended that "more than ever, we need to keep fighting for the interests of the Azores and Terceira," assuring that his Government will do it "with all the legitimate tools we have at our disposal."
 
"It is essential to underline that this matter is not between the Government of the Azores and the USA; it is a matter between the Portuguese Government and the U.S. Government. The Portuguese Government cannot benefit from the Agreement without meeting its responsibilities: deploy means to face this situation and call to reason those who have used the Lajes Air Base for 60 years," said the President of the Government of the Azores.