In an interview with Kathimerini, former NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, has defended his policy of neutrality in the disputes that arose between nominal allies Greece and Turkey, and took credit for creating a deterrence procedure that, according to him, averted serious escalation of tensions.

In a book he has published about his 10-year run (2014-24) in NATO, “On My Watch: Leading NATO in a Time of War,” Stoltenberg writes that he deliberately chose to stay neutral in the dispute between Greece and Turkey. His stance was not well-received in Greece, with the unforgiving social media pundits often distorting his last name to “Sturkenberg.”

Asked by Kathimerini, Stoltenberg said any active measures need a consensus, something that could not be achieved with the opposing sides both being NATO members. And he said that, contrary to perception, he had several times underlined the fact that NATO members’ territorial integrity should be respected.

Stoltenberg admits that, occasionally, tensions and incidents between Greece and Turkey caused worry but credits officers from both countries’ armed forces for helping de-escalate tensions and maintain open communication channels.

An advantage of both Greece and Turkey being NATO members was that he could always communicate with both sides. The deterrence mechanism was accepted by both sides and functioned, “for a while,” he says, and helped prevent serious incidents.

Source: Ekathimerini.com