NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who commented on the prospects for appointing a successor to this post, publicly stated for the first time that the head of the Dutch government, Mark Rutte, has the best chance to achieve it.
NATO should have a new Secretary General. Jens Stoltenberg has held this post since October 2014, that is, almost 10 years. This is the second longest tenure of the Secretary General in the entire history of this defense bloc. But Stoltenberg soon left his NATO post.
There is no new extension of his power. The main candidate to replace Stoltenberg is the current Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte.
Hungary tried to intervene
Hungary and Slovakia were the last to support Rutte’s candidacy. The Hungarian Prime Minister noted that it is important for him that the next NATO Secretary General upholds his agreement with Jens Stoltenberg that Hungary “will not participate in NATO activities in Ukraine and no Hungarian funds will be used to support it .”
According to him, in a meeting in Brussels the previous day, Rutte assured that he supports this agreement and will continue to do so when he becomes NATO Secretary General.
“In light of his commitment, Hungary is ready to support Prime Minister Rutte’s candidacy for the post of NATO Secretary General,” Orbán said.
He added that Rutte also assured that his goal as NATO Secretary General “is to treat all members of the Alliance with the same level of understanding and respect.”
At the same time, Slovak President Peter Pellegrini said that Bratislava is also ready to support Rutte’s candidacy.
In return for the support, Slovakia wanted help in ensuring its air defense. Pellegrini recalled that at the moment there are two candidates for the post of NATO Secretary General – in addition to Rutte, as well as the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.
According to the Slovak President, it is clear that Slovakia can present a representative of Central-Eastern Europe in this post.
“After consultations with both candidates and after consultations with Prime Minister Robert Fico and the Slovak government, the Slovak Republic will consider supporting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as chairman of the Alliance,” said by Pellegrini.
He also recalled that this support was accompanied by a request and request from the Slovak side that Rutte, as the next head of NATO, would ensure the protection of Slovak airspace.
“Now Slovakia does not have an air defense system, and that is why Rutte and I discussed the fact that if he is elected chairman of the Alliance, he should insist on the protection and defense of the Slovak airspace – at least to the extent that Slovakia can defend this airspace on its own Rutte expressed his willingness to consider this issue in the future,” explained the president.
Pellegrini added that he also asked Rutte to consider the geographical principle when filling NATO positions at lower command levels after his election to the new post.
Resolved issue
Stoltenberg himself admitted that he usually refrains from commenting on his successor because he was not the one who chose him.
“But after today’s announcement by Prime Minister Orbán, I think it is clear that we are close to a decision in the Alliance to elect the next Secretary General,” Stoltenberg said.
He said Mark Rutte is “a very good candidate because he has a lot of experience as prime minister.”
“He is my close friend and colleague and therefore I believe that the Alliance will soon decide on my successor.
More for Ukraine
Rutte has led the Dutch government continuously for the past 13 years. The Netherlands, under the leadership of Rutte, has been one of the leaders in supporting Ukraine. The Netherlands supplies the Ukrainian Armed Forces with F-16 fighters. Rutte also supports NATO expansion.
On March 1, 2024, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands visited Kharkov, where he signed an agreement on security guarantees with the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky.
The document notes the provision of military aid from the Netherlands in the amount of 2 billion euros in 2024 and continued support for the next 10 years.
In addition, Rutte has the Order of Yaroslav the Wise, 1st degree, “for his significant personal contribution to strengthening interstate cooperation, supporting the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.