Turkey Announced That It Backs Rutte To Head NATO. Only Two Countries Haven’t Announced So Far If They Choose Him Or Iohannis

UPDATE at 17.05: The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey officially announced that the country led by Erdogan supports Mark Rutte as the head of NATO. “Today we informed Brussels,” Oncu Keceli told AFP.

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Original news: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met on April 16 in Istanbul with Mark Rutte.

Erdogan has publicly said he hopes the next NATO secretary general will prioritize Turkey’s terrorism concerns: “I told him that, in accordance with the spirit of the Alliance, no terrorist organization, especially the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and its associates , must not be tolerated”.

Klaus Iohannis last spoke by phone with Erdogan on April 19.

NATO only makes decisions by consensus, therefore the head of NATO needs the support of all 32 member states to be appointed secretary general.

Rutte, the main opponent of Iohannis at the head of NATO

In February, President Klaus Iohannis said it would be unacceptable if, after the European Parliament elections in June, no relevant position in the EU was filled by a person from Eastern Europe.

A month later, Klaus Iohannis announced that he is entering the competition for the post of NATO Secretary General, now held by Jens Stoltenberg. The main opponent is Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who has not yet announced his candidacy.

Before Iohannis announced his intention, several countries, including the United States, Britain, France and Germany, had publicly spoken out in favor of Rutte’s nomination. Later, the USA also confirmed through the ambassador to NATO that they support Rutte for the headship of the Alliance, not “friend” Iohannis.

In the middle of this month, Klaus Iohannis declared that there are “very intense” discussions that will continue, but “NATO matters are not discussed in public”.

The head of NATO has a four-year term, which can be extended, and is appointed by consensus obtained through diplomatic consultations by the 32 member states. At the moment, Jens Stoltenberg holds the position of Secretary General until October.

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