Portugal tells the UN: enough of this "collective masochism" over oil prices
Addressing the UN General Assembly, the prime minister criticized how global oil prices are set, backed a two-state solution in the Middle East, and reaffirmed Portugal's full support for Ukraine.
Luís Montenegro took the podium at the UN General Assembly in New York and opened with something that hits every Portuguese wallet: the price of fuel. He called it a “senseless crisis” and asked the world to end “this collective masochism,” a direct jab at the mechanism that sets oil prices globally, according to UN Portugal’s account of the speech.
His argument was that entire economies remain hostage to speculation and volatility in a market nobody seems willing to seriously discuss. He invoked the lessons of the 1970s oil crisis, “to avoid repeating what happened then,” and insisted that ending active conflicts is also a way of easing the energy crisis itself.
The Middle East and Ukraine
On the Middle East, Montenegro lamented the civilian death toll and again backed a two-state solution, with Israel and Palestine able to “coexist in peace and security.” He criticized Iran over attacks on neighboring countries, on shipping, and on civilian infrastructure, and opposed the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the tolls imposed on Red Sea traffic.
On Ukraine, he left no room for ambiguity: he pledged Portugal’s “total support” for the country Russia invaded, alongside the European Union.
The speech lands in the middle of a packed foreign-policy stretch for the prime minister, who in recent weeks traveled to Rome to rebuild ties between Portugal and Italy after more than a decade without a top-level official visit. In New York, a few months before Portugal returns to the Security Council as a non-permanent member, he praised António Guterres’s tenure and called for a “more representative” Council, with permanent seats for Africa, Brazil and India.
On climate, he said “more than 70% of energy production” in Portugal already comes from renewable sources, and put freedom of navigation and ocean protection among the country’s foreign-policy priorities.
Photo: Cabinet Public Relations Office, Japan (内閣官房内閣広報室) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
