A successful counter-offensive by Ukraine could lead to Russian President Vladimir Putin “sitting down to the negotiating table,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on CNN television on Tuesday.
“The more ground they gain [os ucranianos]the more likely it is that President Putin understands that he has to sit down at the negotiating table and agree to a just and lasting peace,” said the NATO leader, who was to be received by US President Joe Biden.
This meeting will take place just weeks before the annual NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, theoretically the last one attended by Jens Stoltenberg, whose term ends in the fall.
“I am absolutely convinced that (the 31 NATO member countries) will find an excellent successor,” said the Norwegian, assuring that his “priority at this time [é] lead the alliance until the end of the [seu] mandate”.
There is much speculation as to who will succeed Jens Stoltenberg, whether he will extend his term, whether the first Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen will be appointed, or whether British Defense Minister Ben Wallace will be chosen, albeit differently.
Joe Biden recently said that Ben Wallace was “very qualified” but that a “consensus” would have to be found within NATO, a sometimes tension-filled organization, as illustrated by Sweden’s complicated accession process.
For thirteen months, Ankara has been blocking Sweden’s entry into the Atlantic Alliance, criticizing Turkey and Sweden for harboring Kurdish militants on its territory.
Jens Stoltenberg assured that, despite everything, he is “very confident” and underlined the efforts made by Sweden to reach an agreement with Turkey.
Sweden announced on Monday the extradition to Turkey of a militant from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), convicted in his country for drug trafficking, thus fulfilling a condition imposed by Ankara for the entry of this Nordic country into NATO.
Source: TSF
