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Jens Stoltenberg has no plans to renew mandate as NATO chief

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
12 Feb 2023 19:04

NATO alliance spokesperson Oana Lungescu announces that after finishing his third term, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will not be pursuing a fourth one as chief of the NATO alliance.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks at a news conference at Kastellet in Kommandantgaarden, Copenhagen, Denmark, on May 19, 2022. (Reuters)

NATO alliance spokesperson Oana Lungescu said on Sunday that Jens Stoltenberg, currently NATO chief, has no plans to extend his mandate.

"The mandate of Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has been extended three times, and he has served for a total of almost nine years," Lungescu said.

Stoltenberg's term ends in October 2023, and as per the statement of Lungescu, "he has no intention to seek another extension of his mandate."

It is worth noting that Welt am Sonntag, a German newspaper, reported that a number of NATO member states preferred if Stoltenberg remained in his position while the war in Ukraine continued.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg nominated for Nobel peace prize

In an interview for the Norwegian news outlet Nettavisen published on February 2, far-right Norwegian MP Christian Tybring-Gjedde said he nominated Stoltenberg for the Nobel peace prize.

The staunchly Islamophobic lawmaker, who previously nominated former US President Donald Trump in 2020, said that Stoltenberg "managed to bring NATO together at a very important and demanding time, which is perhaps the biggest crisis since the Second World War."

He also praised Stoltenberg for his diplomatic approach in dealing with Turkey's objections with regard to Sweden and Finland's bid to obtain NATO membership.

Tybring-Gjedde added that he sees no issue in nominating the leader of a military alliance since the active pursuit of peace constitutes a notable criterion sought by the foundation.

The Norwegian politician added that not all recipients end up fulfilling the prize's criteria.

"You cannot get the peace prize just because you are a kind person," he said, adding that he pondered about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as being deserving of the prize, though he admitted that Zelensky was "indeed in the middle of a war."

The Nobel peace prize requires that the award goes to "the person who has done the most or best to advance fellowship among nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and the establishment and promotion of peace congresses."