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MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Turkiye has expressed support for outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Rutte’s bid to head NATO, Dutch broadcaster NOS reported on Monday, citing sources in the military alliance.
Rutte came to Istanbul last week for a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, one of the last holdouts. Only Turkiye, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania have not endorsed Rutte, who needs the support of all 32 member states to succeed Jens Stoltenberg.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said in March that he would run for secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization but his candidacy has not been supported outside of eastern Europe.
Stoltenberg’s term as NATO chief was due to expire in October 2022 but it was extended for another year after a conflict broke out in Ukraine. In July, the alliance again extended his term for another year, until October 2024. He is the second-longest serving NATO head after former Dutch Foreign Minister Joseph Luns, who held the post from 1971 to 1984.
