According to the British "Daily Telegraph", British Prime Minister Sunak will visit the United States from June 6 to 5. During this time, he will lobby US President Joe Biden to support British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace as the next NATO secretary general.
Wallace reportedly said in an interview with Deutsche Presse that he was interested in the post of the next NATO secretary general. "It's the job I want." Wallace said.
"It's an amazing job, NATO is a very important part of all our security guarantees. But this is not something I can decide, but other allies together. Wallace added.
Sunak is reportedly scheduled to hold talks with lawmakers, business leaders and Biden in Washington, D.C., on June 6 and 7. At that time, Sunak will discuss cooperation in economy, trade, science and technology with Biden, and is expected to sign billions of dollars of business investment in the UK.
The Daily Telegraph said Wallace was popular in the United States because he played a central role in helping to build an international coalition in support of Ukraine. In addition, he raised Britain's defense spending to 2.25% of GDP and aimed to reach 3% by the end of the century.
Sunak also spent time lobbying for Wallace during the G5 Hiroshima summit in May. However, the report said that the British side was worried that France and Germany would join forces to try to prevent the British from taking the post of NATO secretary general.
According to Reuters, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frazeriksen, Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Kallas, European Commission President von der Leyen and Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Christian Freeland also appeared in diplomat discussions and media reports as candidates for NATO secretary general.
In response, Reuters commented: "The race to become the next NATO secretary general is heating up. There is no indication yet who will win. ”
It was previously reported that the current NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will step down at the end of September. NATO member states are expected to identify candidates for the post of Secretary-General at the NATO summit in July at the latest.