NATO Secretary General: "The world is too complex to be divided into friends and enemies"

The NATO Secretary General is the chief official in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It is his responsibility to coordinate the activities of the alliance and the North Atlantic Council. Today Jens Stoltenberg, the former Prime Minister of Norway, is in the top leadership position in NATO.

Origin

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was born in 1960 in a family well known in political circles. His father, Turvald Stoltenberg, was at that time in Norway the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The early childhood of the future head of NATO passed in Yugoslavia, where his father was in the capacity of ambassador. At that time, his older sister Camilla took an active part in the activities of the Communist organization "Red Youth". Under the influence of the sister, the future NATO Secretary General was an active participant in the demonstrations against the war in Vietnam.

Brief biographical information

Career Jens Stoltenberg began in the newspaper Arbeiderbladet. This is the official mouthpiece of the left forces, which has a significant influence in Norwegian public life. The future Secretary General of NATO worked in the publication as a journalist.

• In the period from 1985 to 1989, he directed the activities of the youth organization of the Norwegian Workers' Party.
• In the years 1993-1996. Worked as Minister of Trade and Energy of the country.
• In 1996-1997 years. Headed the Ministry of Finance.
• In March 2000, he began his career as Prime Minister of the country, but quickly finished it. In the parliamentary elections in September 2001, his party receives less than 25% of the vote. For all its history this is the worst result.
• In 2002, Jens Stoltenberg rises at the head of the party and leads her to victory during the next election. In 2005, the Norwegian Workers' Party, together with the centrists and the left, manages to form the backbone of the ruling coalition.
• During the elections in 2009, the majority in the parliament, which managed to achieve the coalition, gives Jens Stoltenberg the opportunity to create a new government.

The NATO Secretary General

In March 2014, Jens becomes Secretary General, as well as chairman of the NATO Council. The author of the initiative of nomination is German Chancellor Angela Merkel. It was supported by the United States and the rest of the alliance. The inauguration took place in October this year.

About the predecessor

His predecessor, former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, was in office for the previous five years, between 2009 and 2014. According to experts, his activities in the areas declared priority (relations with Moscow and the Afghan war), to particular success has not resulted.

In February 2015, after Ukraine's recognition of the Russian Federation as an aggressor country, the NATO Secretary General's (now a former) declaration was a landmark that since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Russia's aggression is the most serious danger for Europe.

On the most important direction in work

According to observers, the priority direction in the work of the new head of NATO, as in previous times, is building relations with Russia, forming an assessment of its foreign policy, conducted by President Vladimir Putin. Even before his appointment, Jens Stoltenberg exposed Russia's policy to merciless criticism, he spoke of the Russian threat to the stability and security of European countries.

As head of NATO, Mr. Stoltenberg has repeatedly stated the need to build up the military power of the alliance, including nuclear, to prevent attempts by Russia to violate international laws. The statement of the NATO Secretary General, which he gave at the very beginning of his activity, about the need for joint counteraction to the member states of the alliance of the Russian threat, which concerns the eastern states, sounded promising.

On the extension of sanctions

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg appealed to the leaders of world powers with an appeal to extend sanctions against the Russian Federation, caused by the conflict in Ukraine. Restrictions must be extended until the Minsk agreements are implemented, the politician believes.

On attempts to split the bloc

Recently, NATO has accused Russia of trying to split the alliance. At the same time, the Secretary-General expresses his sincere confidence in the futility of these attempts due to the unity of the members of the North Atlantic bloc.

On the "intimidation" of Russia's neighbors

The NATO Secretary General, in a statement at a Brussels press conference at the beginning of the year, accused Russia of being ready to use military power to intimidate its neighbors and redraw the borders of Europe.

"The provoked humanitarian crisis in Syria, Russia using nuclear weapons threatens peace," - said the head of the alliance.

As I. Konashenkov, an official representative of the Defense Ministry, noted in his communication with the media, such attacks on the growing "Russian threat" are regular before the discussion in the US Congress of the volumes of financing military needs.

The Russia-NATO Council

Similar statements by the leader of the North Atlantic alliance prompted Dmitry Medvedev to draw a conclusion about another aggravation of relations between NATO and Russia and the beginning of another round of the Cold War.

Despite this, Mr. Stoltenberg avoids calling Russia an enemy. Moreover, the Secretary General announced the need to hold a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council. According to Jens Stoltenberg, the resolution of major conflicts is impossible without Russia's participation. "The world is too complex to be divided into friends and enemies," he believes.