The more the Ukrainians gain ground, the more likely it is that President Putin will understand that he needs to sit down at the negotiating table, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN.
A successful Ukrainian counteroffensive could cause Russian President Vladimir Putin to “sit at the negotiating table”NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN today.
“The more (the Ukrainians) gain ground, the more likely it is that President Putin will understand that he has to sit down at the negotiating table and give the his agreement to a just and lasting peace”said the head of the Western defense alliance, who is expected to be received today by US President Joe Biden.
The meeting will take place a few weeks before the annual NATO summit in Vilnius (Lithuania), theoretically the last for Jens Stoltenberg, whose term ends in the autumn. “I am absolutely confident that (the 31 member countries) will find an excellent successor,” said Norway’s Stoltenberg, assuring that “his priority for now is to lead the alliance until the end of his term.”
Various speculations are being made about Jens Stoltenberg’s succession: extension of his term, the appointment of a woman for the first time, for example Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen or even a completely different choice in the person of British Defense Minister Ben Wallace. Joe Biden recently said of the latter that he is “very qualified” but that “consensus” would need to be found within NATO, an organization that is sometimes fraught with tension as shown by Sweden’s complicated accession process.
Turkey has been blocking for 13 months Sweden’s entry into the Atlantic Alliance, accusing it of tolerance towards Kurdish fighters on its territory. Jens Stoltenberg stated that he is “certain” despite this and underlined the efforts being made by Sweden in order to find an agreement with Turkey.
Stockholm announced on Monday the deportation to Turkey of a supporter of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) who has been convicted in his country of drug trafficking, de facto responding to a condition Ankara had set for its entry into NATO.
