In part, the objectives of these visits are apparent – these are issues of military support for Ukraine and the long-term restructuring of NATO for a confrontation with Russia, on which decisions are pending. agreement at the alliance’s July summit in Vilnius (July 11-12).
But the composition of visitors to the US capital suggests that Biden is simultaneously leading the selection process for potential candidates for NATO secretary general. Stoltenberg’s term expires on September 30 of this year. He himself, after some doubts, seems to have refused to extend his powers, but the alliance has not yet decided on his replacement. The fact that the struggle of different groups of countries to pressure their candidates for this position is gaining momentum is indicated by an increasingly active stuffing in the media on this subject.
NATO Secretary General’s term is coming to an end and Joe Biden assesses potential successors
Recently, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that one of the suitors was British Defense Minister Ben Wallace. It has not yet been announced whether he will accompany Sunak on the trip, but according to the publication, the prime minister intended to say a good word to his minister in order to seat a Briton in the chair of the general secretary of the NATO for the first time. in two decades.
As Western media reported the other day, the Prime Minister of Denmark, who visited Biden in front of Sunak, is also seen as one of the strong contenders to succeed Stoltenberg. She enjoys the support of those who, in the spirit of the fashionable struggle for gender equality, dream of making a woman NATO Secretary General for the first time. Frederiksen herself, however, denies these rumors.
Finally, Stoltenberg will certainly share his thoughts on a successor to Biden. Earlier, other candidates were also named in the press, among them – the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the prime ministers of Spain Pedro Sanchez, Mark Rutte of the Netherlands and Kaya Kallas of Estonia.
Although The Daily Telegraph claimed the United States was supportive of Wallace, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said no decision had been made on the matter.
The visits to Washington are also explained by the fact that Britain and Denmark are among the main military sponsors of Kyiv among European countries. In particular, both countries are actively participating in the so-called fighter coalition – a group of states that will transfer fourth-generation F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine and provide everything necessary for their operation, including the training of pilots of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This issue is now one of the keys for NATO countries, so it was actively discussed at meetings in the US capital.
Finally, one of the key topics for NATO countries in the coming weeks is finalizing decisions for the alliance summit in Vilnius, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also planning to visit. Decisions on Ukraine’s entry into NATO or the provision of military guarantees are not expected, but, according to US Permanent Representative to the alliance Julianne Smith, there will be an announcement. strengthening relations with Kiev and assisting in the large-scale modernization of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In addition, for the first time since the Cold War, NATO is preparing a large-scale action plan in the event of a conflict with Russia. According to Smith, new regional plans will be presented to protect NATO territories, including in cyberspace. The documents in preparation provide for the formation of new command and control structures. Foreign Policy magazine clarifies that the North Atlantic Alliance in its plans will return to the postulates of the Cold War era in relation to Russia, when each country was given a specific task of deploying forces in the region .
In the meantime
The South Korean government has released a new national security strategy. The document reflected the views of the administration of conservative Republic of Korea (RK) President Yun Seok-yeol, who came to power in early May last year. As expected, the new strategy is clearly anti-North Korean, pro-American and, to some extent, even pro-Japanese. In addition, the Republic of Korea intends to play a more active role globally, also relying heavily on force. The DPRK’s nuclear issue is called “the main and main security threat” to the Republic of Korea. The main pillars are a firm approach to the DPRK, while Seoul’s only acceptable option for “inter-Korean friendship” is Pyongyang’s complete surrender of its missiles and nuclear weapons, as well as “freedom, democracy, the market and human rights” in the Western sense of this concept. If North Korea does not agree with the “generous offer” of the South, then it is promised sanctions, pressure and “a bet on a peace based on force”. Other points are the general strengthening of the alliance with the United States, the development of a military-political alliance with Washington and Tokyo and the improvement of relations with Japan. Russia is devoted to several short paragraphs. Judging by the approach, relations with Moscow are not seen as important for Seoul. At the same time, although official representatives of the Republic of Kazakhstan have recently repeatedly allowed public criticism of the Russian Federation, there are no particularly sharp attacks in the new strategy.
Prepared by Oleg Kiryanov, Seoul
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