"The Azores have proven that they are there when needed. What we cannot have here and cannot accept is a dormant base that only wakes up when necessary. We do not want to accept that, nor will we accept it. This is one of the points that the Azores must make the Government of the Republic feel, and the Government of the Republic must make the US Government and NATO feel, within the scope of its powers," he said in statements to journalists. Artur Lima was speaking in the town of Lajes, on Terceira Island, on the sidelines of a conference entitled "Portugal is the Azores -- the USA and the Azores in the Cold War (1945-1965)", given by Tácito Rolim, a professor at the State University of Ceará, in Brazil, who holds a doctorate in History. The initiative was organized within the scope of the study and work plan for the creation of the Lajes Base Interpretive Center, developed in collaboration with the Historical Institute of Terceira Island (IHIT), since the end of 2023. At the opening of the conference, the vice-president of the Azorean executive recalled the US military downsizing at the Lajes base in 2015, and the contamination of soil and aquifers, which has required "a show of strength, firmness and dialogue so that the matter is treated with the care it deserves", although highlighting "some significant steps". On the other hand, he argued that, despite the questioning of the strategic value of the Lajes base, due to technological advances and the growing competition between the US and China, the Azores "will never cease to be a key asset for the defense and security policy of the West". "Geopolitics is not static and situations evolve and change. What we are currently seeing is a refocusing of attention on the West and, in addition, on the Atlantic, due to the proliferation of military conflicts, whether in Ukraine or the Middle East", he pointed out. Artur Lima demanded, however, compensation for the Azores. "This base is not a museum piece, but a rehabilitated asset for the country, for the US and for NATO, from which the Azores should take due advantage for their regional and local development. Because let there be no doubt that we want to serve and also want, however, to be served with fair and deserved compensation", he stressed. For the governor, it is necessary to "put the geostrategic importance of the Lajes base on the international agenda" and the interpretive center that is being planned can make a contribution. Artur Lima stressed that it is not just about creating a physical space, but a space "dedicated to research and the scientific production of new knowledge about the geostrategic role of the region". In November 2023, the Regional Government signed a protocol with the IHIT, worth 40 thousand euros, which was valid until December 2024, but the work will continue, according to the vice-president. "This year this part of the study ends, but it will continue during the year 2025 and I assume that by the end of the year the theoretical part will be finished. Then all the theoretical information collected by the historical institute will be developed and then I hope that it will be put into practice and materialized", he explained. The scientific committee of the interpretive center will be composed of António José Telo, full professor of History at the Military Academy, Luís Andrade, full professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of the Azores, and Tácito Rolim, speaker at the conference. The Brazilian historian, who discovered the Azores by chance in a research on the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, highlighted the importance of the Lajes base in the Cold War, as a "protection barrier for the US east coast from a possible Soviet attack" and in the monitoring of a US military operation that tested "the explosion of nuclear devices in the upper atmosphere". Read Also: Elderly woman in "septic shock with organ failure" rescued in the Azores (Portuguese version)