Rute is only missing the support of Romania for the head of NATO

Yesterday, Hungary and Slovakia supported the candidacy of Mark Rutte for the new Secretary General of NATO, which is an important step for the former Dutch Prime Minister on his way to get the post.

NATO makes decisions by consensus, so any candidate needs the support of all 32 allies. Only Romania, whose president, Klaus Iohannis, also wants the post, still opposes Rute's candidacy, Reuters points out.

Hungary's support followed Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's meeting with current NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg last Sunday, where the two sides agreed that Hungary would not block NATO decisions on aid to Ukraine, but it was also agreed that it would not participate in that aid. .

"Mark Rute has confirmed that he fully supports this agreement and will continue to do so if he becomes the new Secretary General of NATO," Orban wrote on the X social network.

"In light of that promise, Hungary is ready to support Rute's candidacy for NATO Secretary General".

The new NATO chief will face the challenge of maintaining allies' support for Ukraine in the fight against a Russian invasion, while being careful to prevent any escalation that could drag the military alliance directly into war with Moscow.

Orbán previously opposed Rutte's candidacy because he expressed "problematic" views, including the idea that Hungary should leave the European Union.

Hungary is at loggerheads with other NATO members over Orban's persistent close ties with Russia and his refusal to send arms to Ukraine, with Hungary's foreign minister last month calling plans to help the war-torn country a "mad mission."

Turkey and Slovakia have also changed their stance on Ruta's candidacy, with Turkey announcing at the end of April that it would support him, while Slovakia announced its support earlier yesterday.

Slovakia, which borders Ukraine, stressed the need for the new NATO chief to help reach an agreement on the protection of Slovakia's airspace, the country's president Peter Pelegrini said, after the previous Slovak government donated S-300 systems to Ukraine and allies withdrew the Patriot systems that were temporarily positioned there.