Posted on 06/22/2023 4:36:10 AM PDT by FarCenter
"It's not going to happen," Wallace told The Economist magazine in an interview, arguing that the United States wanted Stoltenberg to stay as secretary-general.
The UK government has been pushing its defence minister's candidacy after playing a lead role in providing Western arms to Ukraine to fight Russia's invasion.
But Wallace conceded that his bid had run afoul of the politics of the NATO role and the competing visions for the alliance of US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Stoltenberg's eventual successor "is going to have to please both Macron and Biden", he said in the interview, which was published online late on Wednesday.
...
The alliance faces strategic choices, as the United States corrals allies to get tough with China, while France pushes for greater self-reliance within Europe.
"The French have a point in lots of areas," Wallace said, highlighting the need for more collaboration among Europe's defence industries.
"The answer to everything is not America first, when it comes to procurement," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at france24.com ...
Sad. Why was Biden against it? Is it because he is Irish?
UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace
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