Boris Johnson wants to be the new head of NATO, could this affect Russia’s war?

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on February 23rd that he plans to throw his name into the hat for NATO’s top job as Secretary General of the defense alliance. 

Johnson broke the news during an interview with the Ukrainian news outlet European Pravda and immediately set off alarm bells on how his leadership of the world’s most powerful alliance could affect Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. 

"Heading NATO? That's a great idea," Johnson told  European Pravada. "You know, it is a very good idea.”

“I want to emphasize, dear friends, that I have this idea, and let no one forget that there is a candidate on the line. This time, I think I will be lucky," Johnson added. 

During the interview, Johnson spoke about how NATO was stronger than it had ever been thanks to Russia’s aggression and he also mentioned the necessity of Ukraine becoming a member of the alliance. 

“We see quite clearly that Ukrainian membership is a prospect,” Johnson said, before adding that it “has to happen, it is obvious."

"Putin has debunked all the arguments against Ukraine's accession to NATO. Now they are gone," the former prime minister added. 

This isn’t the first time Boris Johnson has signaled that he wanted to run for the position of Secretary General. In July 2022, The Telegraph reported that several important conservative politicians were supporting Johnson in the UK for the role. 

“The Prime Minister is being touted as a candidate to fill the key defense post with the incumbent Jens Stoltenberg widely expected to stand down in September next year,” wrote The Telegraph’s associate politics editor Christopher hope. 

Hope noted that if Johnson was to become the next Secretary General of NATO then he would have to step down from his position as a member of parliament in order to take on the new role. 

“If he were to apply to become the Secretary General of Nato, I suspect he could rely on President Zelensky for a reference,” member of parliament Mark Francois told The Telegraph's Christopher Hope at the time. 

“People will probably argue over Boris Johnson’s legacy for years–but one thing which is clearly inarguable is his absolutely staunch support for Ukraine in the face of Russian barbarity,” Francois added. But therein lies the problem of Johnson as NATO’s head. 

Boris Johnson would almost certainly be more aggressive in advocating for assistance to Ukraine than NATO’s current Secretary General, Jens Stolten, which is a situation that could very easily be used by Putin to justify an escalation in Ukraine and lead to a larger war. 

NATO members are only obligated to go to war under Article 5 if one of their member states is “the victim of an armed attack,” according to the alliance’s website. 

In August 2022, BBC News journalist Frank Gardner outlined three ways in which NATO could be drawn into the war and pointed out that a Russian strike on military supply convoys to Ukraine could bring the alliance into the war with Russia. 

“If casualties were sustained on NATO's side of the border that could potentially trigger Article 5 of Nato's constitution,” Gardner wrote, “bringing the entire alliance to the defense of the country attacked.”

Jens Stoltenberg has been NATO’s Secretary General since 2014 and planned to retire last year but his term was extended to September 2023 after Russia invaded Ukraine according to European Pravda.