Allies need to stand together amid sub flap: NATO leader

Confident that France, the U.K. and the U.S. “will find a way forward and to not make this disagreement create lasting problems for the alliance: NATO Secretary General

With some powerful NATO allies at odds over a submarine sale, the group's leader suggested Tuesday that members need to focus on “the big picture” and not let the dispute between France and the U.S. and Britain open an ongoing rift.

During an interview on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also was cool to the notion of developing a separate European military force and said NATO needs to give careful consideration to any future deployments to fight terrorism after the 20-year war in Afghanistan.

Ato supply — which had been set to buy diesel-powered ones from a French company instead — has , with support from European Union diplomats. But NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg didn't take sides in speaking Wednesday to the Associated Press, instead emphasizing cohesion about the alliance's major goals.