Sunak to lobby for Sec Def to be next NATO head, seeks Biden's support
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The UK's Prime Minister plans to seek the US President's support to appoint the UK's Defense Secretary Ben Wallace as the next head of NATO.
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US President Joe Biden, right, listens to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting, Nov. 16, 2022, in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia. (AP)
During his upcoming visit to the United States from June 7-8, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak plans to try to convince US President Joe Biden to support UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace's candidacy for the post of NATO Secretary General, The Telegraph reported on Sunday.
The British Prime Minister has already raised the topic on the sidelines of the recent meeting of the leaders of the G7 countries in Japan's Hiroshima, added the report.
Wallace is known for his central role in creating an international coalition to support Ukraine, as well as increasing the country's defense spending up to 2.25% of GDP, added the report.
The report mentioned that Wallace's candidacy for the post of NATO Secretary General may not be supported by Germany and France. Additionally, a number of NATO member countries could support the candidacy of Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, reported the newspaper.
Incumbent NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was supposed to resign on October 1, 2022, but in March of the same year, the leaders of NATO member states decided to extend his mandate until September 30, 2023.
