US President Joe Biden blocked the candidacy of British Defense Minister Ben Wallace for the post of NATO Secretary General. The reason — Great Britain announced the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters without a "green light" from Washington.
The Telegraph writes about it.
Ben Wallace lobbied for the supply of modern battle tanks and long-range missiles to Ukraine. However, the U.S. became concerned when the U.K. said it would train Ukrainian pilots and boost international efforts to arm the Ukrainian Defense Forces with U.S. F-16s without White House approval.
Several countries also joined the "killing coalition", but they did not make public their intentions before securing the full support of Washington.
- On July 4 , Jens Stoltenberg announced that he would remain in the post of NATO Secretary General for another year, until October 1, 2024 (his mandate was extended for the fourth time). Before the war in Ukraine, Stoltenberg officially refused to run for the next term and agreed to head the Central Bank of Norway. Because of the war, his mandate was extended until September 2023. Stoltenberg has been the Secretary General of NATO since October 1, 2014.
- On June 22, when asked by a journalist whether he would head NATO, Wallace replied that it would not happen, that is, he declared that he was withdrawing from the race.
- US President Joe Biden , during a meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Washington, called Ben Wallace "very qualified" for the position of Secretary General, while the British Prime Minister "strongly supported" Wallaceʼs candidacy.