Turkey has informed its allies that it will support the candidacy of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte for the position of the new NATO Secretary General.
Anadolu reports this with reference to unnamed Turkish officials.
Turkeyʼs announcement followed Rutteʼs meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on April 26 to seek his support for the post of NATO Secretary General.
Later, at a joint press conference, Rutte said that NATOʼs southern wing needs Turkey and Turkish leadership.
What about the election of the new NATO Secretary General?
The current Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg has been in office since October 1, 2014. Before the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Stoltenberg officially refused to run for the next term and agreed to head the Central Bank of Norway.
His mandate was extended because NATO member states did not reach a compromise on a successor — this requires the consent of all member states of the Alliance. Stoltenberg will hold the post of Secretary General until October 2024.
Rutte is considered the most likely candidate for the position of the next NATO Secretary General. However, there may be difficulties with his election: Romania has its own candidate — President Klaus Iohannis — and Slovakia and Hungary have not yet declared their support for Rutte.