Biden and Stoltenberg are also expected to discuss Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and efforts to persuade fellow NATO member Turkey to back off blocking Sweden from joining the military alliance..reports Asian Lite News
President Joe Biden is set to meet with outgoing Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg at the White House on Monday as the competition to find his successor to lead the military alliance.
Stoltenberg, who has led NATO since 2014, will be stepping down when his term ends in September. Stoltenberg’s tenure was extended three times since then.
The competition to find a consensus pick for the role has intensified ahead of the NATO annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, next month.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has advocated for UK Defence Minister Ben Wallace, while Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has also been considered.
President Biden’s opinion carries significant weight as the United States is the highest spender on defence within the alliance. The discussions are expected to touch upon other issues, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and efforts to persuade Turkey to allow Sweden to join NATO.
On 12 February, a NATO spokesperson said Stoltenberg had no intention of seeking a fourth extension of his term as NATO secretary-general, after the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported member states wanted him to stay on while the Russo-Ukrainian War continues.
Biden and Stoltenberg are also expected to discuss Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and efforts to persuade fellow NATO member Turkey to back off blocking Sweden from joining the military alliance.
Earlier this month, Stoltenberg said he was working hard to ensure Sweden’s accession to the alliance is completed as soon as possible, and that he will soon travel to Turkey to facilitate the process.
In March, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to ask his country’s Parliament to vote on Finland’s NATO membership bid, but delayed that of Sweden, arguing that Turkey still expected Sweden to extradite 120 members of what it considers terrorist groups before his country approaches the Swedish membership bid “positively”.
Stoltenberg and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken have both expressed hope that Sweden will be brought into the NATO fold by the time allied leaders meet in Lithuania in July, media reported.
A member of the Norwegian Labour Party, he previously served as the 34th Prime Minister of Norway from 2000 to 2001, and again from 2005 until 2013.
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