RPT - Stoltenberg's Term As NATO Chief Extended Due To Sweden's Accession, Ukraine - Source

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th July, 2023) NATO has extended Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's term of office once again due to his role in facilitating the accession of Sweden to the alliance as well as guiding NATO's response to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, a source close to the negotiations told Sputnik.

Stoltenberg's term as secretary general was due to expire in October 2022, but it was extended for another year, until September 30, 2023, against the backdrop of the Ukraine crisis. Earlier this month, the alliance extended his term for another year, meaning that Stoltenberg will remain in the post until October 1, 2024. He is the second-longest serving NATO Secretary General after former Dutch Foreign Minister Joseph Luns, who held the post from 1971 to 1984.

"First of all, negotiations are still ongoing on finalizing the ratification process for Sweden, and this is an issue to which Jens Stoltenberg has put a lot of effort, so the allies agreed that it would be the best for the alliance to extend his mandate so he can fulfill this task. Also, it is important for the alliance to support Ukraine as much as possible, and Jens Stoltenberg has shown great leadership and effort towards this direction, so the allies decided that it is better not to replace him, as the situation in Ukraine is ongoing, and negotiations on finalizing Swedish ratification are also ongoing," the source said.

The source noted that there were two female runners-up for the position.

"It was Kaja Kallas, the prime minister of Estonia, and Mette Frederiksen, the prime minister of Denmark, with Frederiksen being the most prominent candidate of the two. However, this didn't proceed," they stated.

When asked whether another prominent female candidate, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, would be considered for the position again in 2024, the source suggested that it was too early to discuss the issue.

"What I can say is that she is regarded as a very effective and successful European Commission president and she also has firsthand knowledge of the defense and geopolitical issues, as she was for a number of years the minister of defense of Germany. But it is up to the allies to decide and it's still very early and unreasonable to speculate on this topic," they concluded.

Last week, Stoltenberg said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had agreed to transmit Sweden's long-awaited NATO membership bid to the parliament and to work closely with lawmakers to ensure its ratification. However, no information has been provided so far with regard to the ratification deadline.

Sweden, along with Finland, submitted its NATO application in May 2022, several months after Russia had launched its military operation in Ukraine.