“Former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in his memoir On My Watch that the decision to appoint a US representative instead of a German candidate as his deputy caused the resentment of the then Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Source: “European Truth” with reference to Stoltenberg’s memoirs
Details: Stoltenberg recalls how in the summer of 2016 he had to decide who would become his deputy as NATO Secretary General after the resignation of Alexander Vershbow.
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The German side promoted the candidacy of Martin Erdmann, a career diplomat and German ambassador to NATO. The USA also nominated career diplomat and disarmament expert Rose Gettemüller.
“I conducted thorough interviews with both candidates. There was no doubt that both were highly qualified, but Gottemueller held a key position in the US State Department, was an expert on Russia and had extensive knowledge in the field of arms control. I believed that we would need her to strengthen the dialogue with the Russians in the future,” writes Stoltenberg.
According to him, shortly after the announcement of Gottemueller’s appointment, he spoke at the EU summit, where Merkel treated him with a cool attitude.
“I am very disappointed in you, Jens. You took into account only the interests of the Americans. You cannot allow the USA to decide everything in NATO,” he quotes the words of the then German chancellor.
At the same time, writes Stoltenberg a little later, at the Alliance summit in Warsaw in 2016, Merkel made it clear that her indignation is in the past.
“When I don’t agree, I don’t agree. And I don’t agree with the appointment of the Deputy General Secretary. But you should know, Jens, that I hold no grudge. For me, this is a matter of the past. Finito!” – the book says.
Stoltenberg too tellsas he banned NATO subordinates from mocking Trump after he was elected president in 2016 in order to mend relations with the new administration.
Also former Secretary General of NATO explainedwhy, at the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion in 2022, the Alliance did not proceed to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine.