BREAKING

Stoltenberg announces own one-year extension as NATO chief

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
4 Jul 2023 13:19

The term of NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has been extended another time for another year to October 2024.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, June 29, 2023. (AP)

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg stated, on Tuesday, that his term has been extended for a further year to October 2024, shortly after a decision by the alliance's 31 member states.

"Honoured by NATO allies' decision to extend my term as secretary general until 1 October 2024," Stoltenberg said in a tweet.

Honoured by #NATO Allies' decision to extend my term as Secretary General until 1 October 2024. The transatlantic bond between Europe & North America has ensured our freedom & security for nearly 75 years, and in a more dangerous world, our Alliance is more important than ever.
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) July 4, 2023

"In a more dangerous world, our alliance is more important than ever," he added.

This comes shortly after NATO member states decided to prolong Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg's mandate, having failed to agree on a new candidate to lead the military bloc.

Former Norwegian Prime Minister Stoltenberg, who has led the Western military alliance since 2014, has already had his term extended by a year, to October 2022, in the aftermath of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in February 2022.

Others seen as potential candidates, including Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and British Defense Minister Ben Wallace, have recently dropped out of contention.

Julianne Smith, the US Ambassador to NATO, told the media that an announcement on the secretary general's post will most likely be made "in the days ahead."

According to Smith, "A possible extension of Jens Stoltenberg is an option that allies are looking at."

At the beginning of June, sources told The Telegraph that many countries, mostly France, are insisting the next secretary-general must be from an EU nation, thus ruling out Ben Wallace.

At the time, Macron had the backing of Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland.

The United States too was skeptical about UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace's candidacy for the NATO post because a number of US military officials are dissatisfied with him over his measures on Ukraine, The Guardian reported on June 18.

The US has its reservations about Wallace, with some in the military unhappy with the way he has set the pace on the Ukraine issue, the newspaper revealed.