NATO countries open to extending Stoltenberg's tenure: Report

Member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have tentatively agreed to ask Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to continue to remain chief of the 31-member transatlantic alliance, Associated Press reported citing US officials familiar with the decision. The member states have reportedly reached a tentative agreement to ask Stoltenberg to extend his tenure by one year.

NATO is soon to hold its annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. The summit will be held on July 11-12. AP reported that it had been conveyed to Stoltenberg by US President Joe Biden that it was difficult to reach a consensus on picking a new leader.

Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian PM, has been at the helm of NATO since 2014. His term was set to expire last year, but it was extended for a second time after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

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Jeanne Shaheen, a Democratic Senator from New Hampshire, who is a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is leading a delegation to Vilnius next month. She told AP in an interview that she expected Stoltenberg's term to be extended and called it "very good news for NATO and for the allies."

“I think Stoltenberg has proved to be critical as the challenges to NATO have unfolded over the last couple of years,” Shaheen said. “He’s been very adept at working with all the NATO countries and I think any time we’re in the middle of a crisis — as we are now with what’s happening in the war in Ukraine — being able to maintain that kind of stability and leadership that he’s provided is really critical.”

Biden has already told Stoltenberg that he would welcome any development that sees the latter being NATO chief for a longer time.

NATO leaders have now reportedly agreed with Biden's sentiment that Stoltenberg should stick around for more time especially as no end to the Ukraine war is in sight and Sweden's inclusion in the bloc is still an uncertainty.

Douglas Lute, who served as US ambassador to NATO under President Barack Obama, said extending Stoltenberg’s tenure offers NATO the path of least resistance.

“What the alliance does not need right now is a lack of solidarity over who to succeed him,” Lute said. “The simplest thing is for him to be extended.”

Lute was quoted by AP.

Other candidates

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was considered to be a favourite after a meeting with Biden recently. NATO has been keen to name a woman to the top post.

However, Frederiksen has publicly said that she was not seeking the job.

British PM Rishi Sunak has also lobbied Biden on behalf of British Defence Minister Ben Wallace.

Poland is opposed to the next secretary-general coming from a Nordic state given Stoltenberg's long tenure, AP reported citing the US official.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Stoltenberg's predecessor, is from Denmark. Poland is now reportedly lobbying that the next secretary-general of the bloc should come from a Baltic nation.

(With inputs from agencies)

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