defense
Steinmeier praises Stoltenberg’s leadership at the top of NATO
Calls for the NATO alliance to remain strong – “whatever happens”: Frank-Walter Steinmeier. photo
© Martin Schutt/dpa
“You steer our alliance through the storm”: At the presentation of the Henry A. Kissinger Prize in Berlin, Federal President Steinmeier emphasized the crucial role of the NATO chief.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid tribute to the leadership of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during this crisis-ridden time.
“You will steer our alliance through the storm. And you will ensure that it emerges strong,” said Steinmeier when Stoltenberg was awarded the Henry A. Kissinger Prize in Berlin. “You have prepared our alliance for the enormous changes of our time. You have prepared NATO for the future,” Steinmeier continued, according to the previously published speech manuscript.
The former Norwegian prime minister has been at the head of the Western defense alliance for nine years. His term of office would actually have expired several times, but it was recently extended, among other things, because of the war in Ukraine. Last year, Steinmeier himself received the annual prize awarded by the American Academy in Berlin, which is named after the former US Secretary of State Kissinger.
In his laudatory speech, Steinmeier called on us to “do our part as Germans, as Europeans, to keep our alliance strong – whatever happens,” given the uncertain outcome of the US elections a year from now. There are many good reasons to meet the two percent target for defense – “reliable and sustainable”. The European pillar in NATO must be strengthened and Ukraine must be supported for as long as necessary.