Reuters, Brussels :Nato chose former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg as its next leader on Friday at a time when the Western military alliance must deal with a resurgent Russia following its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea.Stoltenberg will take over as secretary-general of the 28-nation grouping on October 1, succeeding former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who has led Nato since 2009.Stoltenberg, the first Norwegian to occupy Nato’s top post, will take over at a time when Nato, seen by some as a Cold War relic, has gained new relevance because of concerns about what the Ukraine crisis says about a newly assertive Russia.”Stoltenberg’s Norway is seen as a very serious defence player and has always taken the challenge of Russia very, very seriously. I think there is a little bit of a signal there,” said Daniel Keohane, a defence expert at the FRIDE thinktank. Stoltenberg will take over at a turning point in Nato’s history. The urgency of the Ukraine crisis means that the alliance, which is due to end combat operations in Afghanistan at the end of this year, is likely to refocus back onto its core task of defending its member countries.
