Azores_Summit
Azores Summit
2003 meeting between heads of state of Portugal, Spain, UK, and US
The Azores Summit was a meeting held on 16 March 2003 at Lajes Air Base on Terceira Island in the Azores archipelago, Portugal, between the heads of government of the United States (George W. Bush),[1] the United Kingdom (Tony Blair), Spain (José María Aznar), and Portugal (José Manuel Durão Barroso, who also served as the host).[2]
At the Azores Summit, the decision was made to issue a 24-hour ultimatum to the Iraqi regime headed by Saddam Hussein for disarmament under threat of a declaration of war.[3] In Spain, the Azores Summit was widely criticized and, according to some experts, it was a turning point that marked the beginning of the fall of the People's Party, which would be further accentuated by the 2004 Madrid train bombings.[4][5]
The ultimatum finally led to the 2003 invasion of Iraq by an international coalition of countries, without the explicit backing of the United Nations,[6] although they relied on United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCR) 1441, 1483, and 1511.[7]