NATO is about to have a new Secretary General.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is likely to replace Jens Stoltenberg as the new NATO Secretary General at the NATO summit in mid-July in Washington, D.C., after the last remaining candidate, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, announced his withdrawal.

In a statement released yesterday (June 20), the Romanian Supreme Defense Council announced that Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has decided to withdraw from the race for the next term as NATO Secretary General and has given his support to the only remaining candidate, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

If elected, Mark Rutte would be the fourth Dutchman to hold the highest position in NATO.

This move virtually means that Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will succeed Jens Stoltenberg as head of NATO. Previously, with the exception of Hungary and Romania, Mark Rutte had received the support of all other NATO members. Earlier this week, the Dutch Prime Minister secured the support of the Hungarian Prime Minister after assuring Hungary that, if elected as NATO Secretary General, it would not be obligated to participate in any future NATO operations in Ukraine.

The election of a new NATO Secretary General is expected to be decided at the upcoming summit of the military alliance, taking place from July 9-11 in Washington, D.C. The current NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, has had his term extended four times and has expressed his desire to step down from the position in 2023.

If elected, Mark Rutte would be the fourth Dutchman to hold the highest position in NATO. Analysts believe the new Secretary-General's top priority will remain the issue of Ukraine, ensuring NATO maintains unity among its members in providing long-term support to Ukraine without escalating the conflict directly with Russia.

Furthermore, the head of NATO also faces the equally difficult task of maintaining transatlantic relations in the face of Donald Trump's re-election as US President in the election later this year.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/nato-sap-co-tong-thu-ky-moi-post385643.html