Jens Stoltenberg offered to remain at the helm of NATO for an eleventh year
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is likely to extend his tenure for another year, as urged by the French government, according to The Telegraph, citing sources in the French government.
Paris insists that the position of NATO Secretary General should be held by a representative of the European Union (EU) rather than the British Secretary of State for Defense, Ben Wallace. "He is not from an EU member country, - quotes the newspaper's source. - Many countries, primarily France, insist that the next Secretary General should be from an EU country."
Until yesterday, Ben Wallace was the leading candidate for the NATO Secretary General position. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was also mentioned as a candidate, but she did not receive support from one of NATO's key members, the United States.
A few days ago, it was revealed that Joe Biden called on Stoltenberg to stay in his position. This occurred during their meeting in Washington. Perhaps Washington would prefer to see Mr. Wallace in the NATO Secretary General role. However, given the uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine, a more balanced candidate who would receive approval from key European partners, such as Germany and France, is likely to be chosen.
It is also expected that Stoltenberg himself will be able to bring the challenging process of Sweden's accession to NATO to a conclusion. This is a complex task considering Turkey's resistance, which demands changes in Stockholm's policy towards Kurdish groups.
Furthermore, according to The Telegraph, France's stance is driven by its desire to make its security bloc slightly less dependent on Washington. Moreover, it is known that the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron is supported not only by Germany but by the majority of NATO members. Although the Netherlands and Poland would rather see British candidate Ben Wallace in the Secretary General seat.
In the fall of this year, Jens Stoltenberg, the former Prime Minister of Norway, was supposed to step down from the position of NATO Secretary General after almost ten years. It was previously known that Stoltenberg had requested the opportunity to leave his NATO position.
However, it is now known that the United States, France, and to some extent, Germany would prefer to see him in this role for another year. This is despite the fact that the United Kingdom, the closest ally of the United States, does not hide its frustration with the nomination of Ben Wallace and expresses its position quite sharply. The final decision on the Secretary General's candidacy is expected to be made by July 12, 2023, the last day of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
As reported by The Gaze, Czech President Petr Pavel outlined two possible scenarios for providing security guarantees to Kyiv by Western partners during the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius this July.
One scenario involves using the guarantees given to Finland from its accession to ratification. The other approach to security guarantees is similar to the one applied to Israel.