LISBON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - A surge in U.S. aircraft activity at the Lajes air base in the Azores is covered by a decades-old bilateral treaty and does not require authorisation from Lisbon, Portugal's foreign minister said on Monday.
The country's left-wing opposition has called on the centre-right government to explain the legal basis behind the increase in U.S. military flights and to clarify whether Lisbon had given approval.
Washington has embarked upon what it says is its largest military build-up in the Gulf since the 2003 Iraq War as hopes fade that it can negotiate a diplomatic resolution to Iran's nuclear programme.
NO BREACH OF AGREED RULES
Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel said there had been "a more intensive use of the Lajes base in recent weeks" by U.S. aircraft, but without any breach of the rules agreed between Portugal and the U.S. under the 1951 treaty.
"(The increased use) does not need to be authorised, nor known, by Portugal," Rangel told reporters.
"Look at the past 50 or 60 years and you will see it has always been this way... and that is how it will continue. We fulfill our obligations," he said.
Rangel said Portugal has always urged diplomatic solutions to international tensions, including over Iran, and called for disputes to be settled peacefully.
The Lajes base, located in the Azores archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, has long served as a strategic transit point for U.S. forces.
"Portugal has always defended its alliance with the U.S. and its membership of NATO, and that has not changed with geopolitical shifts," he said.
(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves; editing by Barbara Lewis)
