NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Friday dodged questions about US President Joseph Biden’s health ahead of the alliance’s summit in Washington next week, saying one of the reasons for NATO’s success is that it stays out of domestic political affairs.
Biden’s health has become a major issue in the US election campaign after his poor performance in a debate with Republican opponent Donald Trump last week.
When asked if he was worried that the focus on Biden’s abilities could overshadow the NATO summit, Stoltenberg replied that meetings are always held in an internal political context.
“NATO must focus on itself and we will do that,” NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said at a pre-summit press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
When asked if he believes Biden is mentally and physically fit enough to lead NATO’s largest nuclear-armed member in the coming years, and if he has noticed a deterioration in Biden’s condition, Stoltenberg said he met with Biden a few weeks ago and had good meetings. with him in the Oval Office.
“We have made progress in preparations for the upcoming NATO summit,” he said, adding that he welcomed Biden’s strong personal leadership in support of Ukraine.
But he said any further comments could be harmful to NATO.
“One of the reasons why NATO is successful is that we don’t interfere in internal political issues,” he said.
“If I start saying anything that could link me to the ongoing political discussions in any federal state, I will actually weaken the union,” he added, Hina writes.
