"He was in charge from 2014 to 2024 and this documentary, with remarkable access, shows us his final 12 months day-by-day, moment-by-moment after Joe Biden had persuaded him in 2023, when his tenure was technically at an end, to stay on for another year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Perhaps, until that moment, Stoltenberg had been happy to assume that for all the meetings and stress, the secretary-generalship was an agreeable prestigious technocratic position without any real danger."
"But how about Nato giving money and weapons to Ukraine for attacks on Russian soil? Wouldn't Russia see that the same way? So the film shows us Stoltenberg taking endless public love-in photocalls with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, promising to bring him over to Norway for a fishing trip. Zelenskyy's reply was: After the war, after our victory, we will have time ; it is like the beginning of a poignant poem."
"When Turkey's Erdogan objects to Sweden joining Nato, Stoltenberg buys him off with American F-16s; when Hungary's Orban objects, Stoltenberg contrives an opt-out exempting Hungarian taxpayers from the cost of bankrolling Zelenskyy. And the fiercest sceptic of all, Trump, is appeased by getting everyone to stump up more cash. The film, for all that it finally verges on complacency and self-congratulation, subtly shows us that these temporary problems are in fact not so very bad for Stoltenberg and Nato; they always need a diplomatic"
Jens Stoltenberg served as NATO secretary general from 2014 to 2024 and agreed to stay an extra year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. During his final twelve months he confronted the dilemma of supporting Ukraine without triggering war with Russia. He balanced public solidarity with Ukrainian leadership and private negotiations within the alliance. He negotiated concessions to secure Sweden's accession and Hungary's tolerance, arranging F-16 deliveries and a Hungarian opt-out on financial support. He also rallied increased defense contributions from members and prioritized alliance cohesion, deterrence, and careful escalation control.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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