WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden welcomes outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to the White House for talks Monday as competition heats up to find his successor to lead the military alliance .
Stoltenberg, who has led NATO since 2014 and has extended his mandate three times, said earlier this year that he would move on when his current term expires at the end of September. The game to replace him is intensifying as the leaders of the 31-member military alliance meet next month for their annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Last week, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made the case for UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace directly to Biden. The US president also met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, another potential candidate.
Asked about the NATO job at a press conference with Sunak at his side, Biden called Wallace “very qualified” but noted that the conversation among NATO leaders to find a “consensus” selection for replacing Stoltenberg was underway. Biden’s opinion carries enormous weight, since the US spends more than any other member of the alliance on defense.
Frederiksen tried to downplay his candidacy after meeting with Biden last week. She declined to say whether she spoke to him about the upcoming vacancy, telling reporters she did not want to “go any further in this speculation about NATO.” The alliance has never had a woman secretary general.
A British government official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said before Sunak’s visit that the British leader wants to make sure the next secretary-general “continues the good work of modernization of Stoltenberg, but he also understands the importance.” of defense spending at this critical time.”
Denmark has fallen short of NATO’s goal for members to spend 2 percent of gross domestic product on military budgets by 2030. But the centrist government announced late last month that it would seek to invest about 143,000 million kroner ($20.6 billion) in the country’s defense against the next decade, citing a “serious threat picture”.
Biden and Stoltenberg are also expected to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and efforts to persuade Turkey, a fellow NATO member, to back off from blocking Sweden from joining the military alliance.
Sweden and Finland, both historically non-aligned militarily, jointly sought NATO membership after being rocked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Turkey initially blocked both countries from joining the alliance before accepting Finland’s membership while continuing to oppose Sweden.
In public comments since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was re-elected last month, Biden has spoken with some confidence that Sweden will soon join the alliance.
“It’s going to happen. I promise you,” Biden said of Sweden’s NAT0 promotion earlier this month.
Stoltenberg and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have expressed their hope that Sweden will be brought into NATO when allied leaders meet in Lithuania on July 11-12.
