Members of the Western military alliance have reached a preliminary agreement to ask General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg to stay on for another year, a US official said, quoted by the AP news agency.

The official noted that the decision still needs to be finalized by the members of the alliance.

Stoltenberg, a former prime minister of Norway, has held the post since 2014.

His term was due to expire last year but was extended a second time to keep a steady hand at the wheel during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The anonymous official said he expects a decision relatively soon on an official appeal to Stoltenberg to extend his term for another year.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in May said categorically that he would step down as head of the North Atlantic alliance in October, as planned, after he had already extended his mandate by a year because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported.

• “I made it very clear that I had no plans other than to leave in October.
• It will be almost twice as much as originally planned. And that’s all I have to say about it,” Stoltenberg said.

He said that until then he will be “fully focused” on his duties.

In recent months, there have been speculations that the mandate of the 64-year-old Stoltenberg may be extended again amid the conflict in Ukraine.

The decision on who will succeed Stoltenberg has not yet been made, but Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace are considered to be among the main candidates for the position, Welt reports.