MURMANSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th June, 2023) The NATO member states plan to ask Secretary General Stoltenberg to remain in office for another year, the VG newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing sources.
Stoltenberg has not yet given official consent to extend his contract that expires on October 1. He has stated that he had no plans to continue working in this post and he was not going to seek an extension of the contract.
A formal decision to extend the contract for another year can be expected in the next few days, the newspaper said, adding that Stoltenberg is most likely to remain as NATO head until the summer of 2024.
NATO headquarters in Brussels is awaiting confirmation from Stoltenberg himself on the eve of the summit on July 11-12 in Vilnius, the VG said.
Stoltenberg was due to resign on October 1, 2022, but in March of the same year, the leaders of the alliance's member states extended his mandate until September 30, 2023. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was "seriously" being considered as the next NATO head, as reported by Politico, however, she said in April that she did not intend to apply for the position. Other possible candidates include Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.
