(Washington) The Ukrainian army is “progressing” in its counter-offensive, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg assured Tuesday, received by US President Joe Biden.
“The more territory the Ukrainians can liberate, the better their position will be at the negotiating table,” said the head of the defense alliance, seated in the Oval Office alongside the American president, the main architect of Western support for the war. ‘Ukraine.
The United States also announced on Tuesday additional military aid of $325 million, aimed in particular at strengthening Ukrainian air defense.
The largest donor country to Ukraine, they have delivered or promised more than $39.7 billion in various weapons to Kyiv forces since the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.
Joe Biden for his part mentioned the next annual NATO summit in Vilnius (Lithuania), which will be held in July.
“We have reinforced the eastern flank of NATO, and made it clear that we will defend every inch of territory” of the member countries of the alliance, said the American president, assuring that during the summit, “we will continue on this momentum”.
This annual meeting will in theory be the last for Jens Stoltenberg, who has been extended several times in his post and whose mandate ends this autumn.
“I am absolutely convinced that (the 31 member countries) will find an excellent successor,” the Norwegian told CNN on Tuesday, assuring that his “priority for now (was) to lead the alliance until the end of (its mandate “.
Several speculations run on the succession of Jens Stoltenberg: an extension for the latter, the appointment of the first woman to this post, for example the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, or a completely different choice in the person of the British Minister of Defense , Ben Wallace.
Joe Biden recently felt about the latter that he was “very qualified” but that it would be necessary to find a “consensus” within NATO, an organization sometimes crossed by tensions as illustrated by the complicated procedure of Swedish membership.
Ankara has been blocking Sweden’s entry into the Atlantic Alliance for thirteen months, reproaching it for its leniency towards the Kurdish militants it hosts on its soil.
Jens Stoltenberg assured that he was “very confident” despite everything and underlined the efforts made by Sweden to find an agreement with Turkey.
Stockholm announced on Monday the extradition to Turkey of a supporter of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), convicted in his country of drug trafficking, responding de facto to a condition set by Ankara for entry into NATO. .