NATO’s next secretary-general will face the challenge of sustaining allies’ support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion
Netherland's Prime Minister Mark Rutte addresses the media at the end of an EU summit in Brussels, on June 18.Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, a staunch ally of Kyiv and a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, will succeed Jens Stoltenberg as NATO chief, Dutch national broadcaster NOS reported on Tuesday, after Hungary and Slovakia backed him.
“I think Mark is a very strong candidate. He has a lot of experience as prime minister. He’s a close friend and colleague, and I therefore strongly believe that very soon, the alliance will have decided on my successor,” he said. “And that will be good for all of us, for NATO and also for me.” Rutte’s support for Ukraine is underscored by his criticism of Russia and its President Vladimir Putin, as the Netherlands holds Russia accountable for the downing of passenger flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in July 2014 - which killed all 298 passengers and crew, 196 of them from the Netherlands.
Hungary’s backing followed a meeting Orban had with Stoltenberg last week, where the two sides agreed that Hungary would not block NATO decisions on providing support for Ukraine but has agreed that it would not be involved. Turkey and Slovakia have also changed course on Rutte’s bid, with Turkey saying it would support him in late April and Slovakia announcing its support earlier on Tuesday.
During his tenure, Stoltenberg oversaw NATO’s shift from an alliance mainly engaged in crisis management missions in far-off places such as Afghanistan back to its roots of defence against Russia.
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