The US-led army alliance will appoint a brand new head after Jens Stoltenberg’s time period ends in October
The United Kingdom’s protection minister Ben Wallace can be a “very qualified” chief of NATO if he launches a bid to change into the US-led army bloc’s secretary basic, US President Joe Biden mentioned on Thursday.
Speaking following a summit with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the White House on Thursday, Biden mentioned Wallace – who has expressed an curiosity in pursuing the NATO management function later this yr – can be a becoming candidate. However, Biden stopped wanting formally endorsing Wallace, saying {that a} “consensus within NATO” should first be fashioned.
“[The UK] has a candidate who’s a very qualified individual,” Biden mentioned to reporters in Washington. “We have a lot of discussion between us in NATO, to determine what the outcome of that will be.”
While Biden did not point out Wallace by identify, his feedback appeared to reference statements the protection minister made in May wherein he mentioned the NATO function was “a job I’d like.” Wallace described the place as “a fantastic job” and mentioned “NATO is an incredibly important part of all our securities. But it’s not for me to decide. It’s for all the other allies.”
UK Prime Minister Sunak has been a vocal supporter of Wallace’s NATO candidacy. At the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan final month, Sunak mentioned the previous British army servicemember was “widely respected” however that Wallace’s focus is at the moment on “supporting Ukraine.”
Wallace has been a vocal critic of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine – a battle wherein the UK and United States have been among the many main contributors of army assist to Kiev. NATO has described Russia because the “most significant and direct threat” to NATO allies’ safety.
Russia, in the meantime, has expressed opposition to NATO’s post-Cold War eastward enlargement and to alerts that the bloc is searching for so as to add Ukraine as a member, contemplating each to be a direct nationwide safety menace. NATO has doubled its forces in Eastern Europe since 2021.
Earlier this yr, Moscow additionally criticized British plans to ship tank ammunition containing depleted uranium to Ukraine, saying Russian forces would “respond accordingly.”
Jens Stoltenberg has been NATO chief since 2014. A spokesperson for the bloc confirmed in February that the Norwegian nationwide would go away his put up when the time period expires in early October, and denied newspaper stories that an extension was being mentioned.
(RT.com)