Speaking in a Bloomberg Newsmakers interview in Oslo, former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said tensions between the United States and European NATO allies are “more difficult to manage” than when he left office in 2024, warning the situation has “moved in even worse direction.”
He said: “I still believe that the task is to try to keep North America and Europe together but there are limits for what we should accept,” adding that alliance management involves difficult choices over “when to stop compromising and when to actually take the cost of confrontation.”
Stoltenberg, who led NATO from 2014 to 2024 during Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, said compromise remains central to NATO but must have clear boundaries. He described it as “unacceptable” to threaten allied territory, referring to tensions involving Denmark and Greenland.
On Europe’s readiness for conflict, he said NATO and European allies are “more prepared than we have been for decades,” pointing to higher readiness, stronger forces, expanded defence plans and increased investment since 2014. However, he warned that Europe is not “mentally prepared” for large-scale war, calling that “a bit dangerous” given continued instability in its near neighbourhood.
He added: “One thing is to be mentally prepared. I don’t think we are mentally prepared for war,” distinguishing psychological preparedness from military capability.
Against this backdrop, he said Europe’s security position is materially stronger than a decade ago, but still shaped by political strain and ongoing uncertainty over transatlantic cohesion, defence burden-sharing and long-term strategic alignment.
ℹ️ Bloomberg
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