NATO members on Tuesday renewed Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg for a year as head of the alliance and have been unable to find a candidate to replace him 16 months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began.
“I am honored by the decision of NATO allies to extend my term as Secretary-General to 1um October 2024,” tweeted the former Prime Minister of Norway, 64, who has led the coalition since 2014.
“The transatlantic relationship between Europe and North America has guaranteed our freedom and security for nearly 75 years, and in a more dangerous world, our alliance is more important than ever,” he said days before a crucial summit in Vilnius.
The issue of Ukraine’s NATO accession will be the focus of the Alliance’s high fair in the Lithuanian capital. Should membership be ruled out as long as the Russian military offensive continues, Kiev wants assurances for the future.
“We need a very clear and understandable signal at the Vilnius summit that Ukraine can become a full member of NATO after the war,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently.
In a telephone conversation with the latter on Tuesday afternoon, Jens Stoltenberg emphasized his desire to make tangible progress next week.
“In Vilnius, allies will make decisions to step up aid over the long term, strengthen our political ties and bring Ukraine closer to NATO,” he tweeted after the meeting. This was a “very good conversation”.
Jens Stoltenberg’s extension, expected for several weeks, was approved at a meeting of the ambassadors of the 31 member countries at the organization’s headquarters in Brussels.
That means he will be at the top of the 75 in July 2024e Anniversary of NATO, in Washington, after a decade at the helm of the organization.
If he repeated that he was not seeking an extension, he would never have closed the door on such a hypothesis.
Several names have circulated for his successor in recent months, including Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, but none were ultimately chosen.
Some diplomats fear that the postponed election of his successor by a year will be made even more difficult by the forthcoming European elections (June 2024), which will mark the start of the renewal of key posts in the most important EU institutions. but also American (November 2024).
Sweden is waiting
US President Joe Biden hailed Jens Stoltenberg’s “steadfast leadership” which has “enabled our alliance to meet the greatest security challenges in Europe since World War II”.
“Excellent news,” welcomed the head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba. “Tough times call for strong leadership. Jens Stoltenberg did it. I look forward to continuing our collaboration.”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who backed Ben Wallace’s candidacy, merely welcomed NATO’s development under the Norwegian’s leadership in the face of “new threats” and said he was determined “to continue this work together”.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upset security in Europe, reshuffling the cards and urging Finland and Sweden to join the NATO umbrella. Article 5 of the alliance states that an attack on one member “shall be considered an attack on all members”.
After three decades of military non-alignment, Finland, which shares a 1,300-kilometer border with Russia, became a republic on April 31 in early Aprile NATO member country.
The fate of Sweden is still met with objections from Turkey. Discussions on this dossier are planned for Thursday in Brussels with representatives of both countries.
Turkey will remain impervious to “pressure” and oppose Sweden’s membership if it poses a “burden” to the Atlantic Alliance, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Tuesday.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will be received at the White House on Wednesday for an exchange on this issue.
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