MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has done everything he could and now it is high time for him to vacate the office, a Russian senator said on Sunday.
"NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg is resigning. It’s high time. He has done what he could! He will be remembered for long!" Grigory Karasin, chairman of the international committee of Russia’s Federation Council, or upper parliament house, wrote on his Telegram channel.
NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu told the DPA news agency earlier on Sunday that Stoltenberg is not planning to extend his office term expiring this September. Stoltenberg has extended his duties three times, having stayed in office for nearly nine years.
The Politico newspaper reported on January 30, citing its sources, that many NATO members thought that further extension of Stoltenberg’s term in office was possible as the man was seen as a reliable official who can stay cool-headed and stick to a scenario even amid a crisis.