Portugal supports the reappointment of Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg for another year as NATO leader, one of the items on the agenda of the Atlantic Alliance’s next summit in July, the Foreign Minister Lusa revealed this Friday.
Speaking by phone to Vienna’s Lusa, João Gomes Cravinho noted that this is a “temporary reappointment” given the impossibility of finding a successor for Stoltenberg, who has served two terms at the head of the organization since 2014.
“It is a reappointment that (…) Portugal was part of the movement, shall we say, to build consensus around the re-appointment for another year of the Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.”declared the head of Portuguese diplomacy, who was in the Austrian capital this Friday for a bilateral meeting with his counterpart, Alexander Schallenberg, and also with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi.
According to João Gomes Cravinho, it was not the intention of the former Norwegian prime minister to remain in office, nor of the organization itself, and it was considered possible to find a successor as early as the next NATO summit, on 11 and 12 December. July, in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
“However, the person who can take on these responsibilities has not yet been identified,” the official clarified, highlighting the “extremely delicate picture” the world is going through as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 last year.
However, Cravinho believes that next year, or even before, it will be possible to “identify a personality that can correspond to the moment we live in NATO and internationally”.
It was revealed on Thursday that NATO members are close to an agreement on the reappointment of Jens Stoltenberg and the final decision is expected next week.
“Everyone agrees. The extension [do mandato de Stoltenberg] will be officially registered and announced next week,” a NATO diplomat told Agence France Presse.
US ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith did not confirm the existence of a deal, but told reporters an announcement for the position of secretary general would likely be made “in the coming days”.
Regarding the next NATO summit, João Gomes Cravinho did not anticipate possible additional support measures from Lisbon, he only referred to the fact that “Portugal has been reviewing its support options with great regularity”, underlining the Portuguese generosity compared to other countries and that Kiev can continue relying on this help.
“We do not all view the summit as a vanity fair where everyone says what he can bring news,” said the head of Portugal’s diplomacy, adding that “the support process for Ukraine is permanent and under constant review” and that, when the opportunity arises , aid will be strengthened.
Portugal, he continued, believes that in Vilnius the discussion of NATO’s whole attitude of defense and deterrence will be very important, as will the Alliance’s future relationship with Kiev.
Several member states have already announced that they are preparing new support measures for Ukraine to be announced at the NATO summit, most notably the United States, which unveiled a new “solid package” of aid to Kiev without details on Wednesday.
Source: DN
