The president was speaking at his palace in Belém, in Lisboa, at a joint news conference with Serbia's president, Tomislav Nikolic, who on Wednesday began a two-day state visit to Portugal.

"As part of our friendship, Portugal has supported form the first moment Serbia's accession to the EU, because it considers that it is fundamental for the enrichment of Europe and for the correspondence between the EU and a continent that is so fundamental for the world," de Sousa said. "In the same way we have seen with joy the partnership, the collaboration between the Atlantic alliance and Serbia, and the role of Serbia in relations with Turkey and with the Russian Federation."

The president noted that Portugal and Serbia's diplomatic relationship goes back 135 years - that is, to before the creation of Yugoslavia - and said that he hoped that his counterpart's visit "can represent a quantum leap" in bilateral relations, tourism, trade and other economic and cultural relations.