(Dan Tri) – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg can continue to lead the world’s largest security organization for another year, while members are trying to unify to nominate a replacement candidate.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (Photo: AP).
Mr. Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister, has been NATO’s top civilian official since 2014. His term expired in 2022 but was extended a second time to take the helm of the alliance.
Next September, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg’s NATO term will end, and this time finding a worthy candidate to replace him in this position will not be easy.
US President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts will choose Stoltenberg’s successor when they meet at a summit in Vilnius, Lithuania on July 11 and 12.
However, so far, no candidate has been publicly proposed, although according to a US official, the country’s leader has `high appreciation for a number of potential candidates`.
One issue that the official noted is that President Biden told the NATO Secretary General that `there is increasing evidence that there will not be a consensus` among NATO allies on choosing a
The US President made it clear to the NATO Secretary General that he welcomes Mr. Stoltenberg’s longer stay in this position, especially when the war in Ukraine has not ended and the challenges for Sweden to be accepted are high.
`President Biden believes that Mr. Stoltenberg has completed an excellent job over the past year while leading this alliance,` the US official said.
This US official also said that Mr. Biden highly appreciated Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
But in a television interview, Ms. Frederiksen said: `No, I don’t want to go to NATO.`
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also made it clear that he would support extending Mr. Stoltenberg’s term if it was necessary.
Although some NATO members wish to choose a new leader, Mr. Stoltenberg is still considered a rare senior official who can stay calm and stick to the path even in serious crises.
Meanwhile, when repeatedly asked about his future in power, Mr. Stoltenberg said: `I have nothing more to say about this. I have said again and again that I am not looking for an extension. I do not have one.