LONDON: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the country’s defence minister Ben Wallace was “widely-respected” when asked about his candidacy to lead NATO, adding that the UK had always been a strong contributor to the transatlantic military alliance.

Wallace said in May that he would like to be NATO’s next secretary-general. His current boss, Sunak, told reporters on Monday that conversations about NATO’s next leader were happening amongst world leaders.

“I would say Ben is widely-respected amongst his colleagues around the world, particularly for the role he’s played in Ukraine,” Sunak said.

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“Britain has always been a leading contributor to NATO… And we will always continue to be a strong contributor, a participant in NATO.”