 Britain vigorously rallied other NATO countries to take a stand against Portugal over Reedman . France warned that NATO pressure was unlikely to yield results in his matter , but Belgium 's NATO representative , André de Staercke , agreed to challenge Salazar on 11 September . At his meeting with de Staercke , Salazar denied that Portugal was giving Rhodesia its own diplomatic representation , and said there had been some misunderstanding . Portugal would not obstruct Reedman 's entry should he arrive , Salazar said , as he was travelling on a ( Rhodesian @-@ issued ) British passport . On 14 September , Nogueira 's ministry released a statement saying that if Britain challenged Portugal over Rhodesia at NATO , Lisbon would " use the greatest firmness to repel any attempt to attribute particular responsibilities or to make criticism of Portugal 's position " . 
