Mark Rute, who today takes over the post of NATO Secretary General, said that he is not worried about the outcome of the November presidential elections in the USA and said that NATO will continue its support to Ukraine.
"I'm not worried. I know both candidates very well and I worked with (former US President) Donald Trump for four years," the former Dutch prime minister told reporters, shortly before officially taking office as secretary general.
Rute previously listed three priorities for his four-year mandate. These are support for Ukraine, strengthening of NATO's "collective defense" and development of international partnership with third countries.
Rute succeeds Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, who headed the Alliance for ten years, as NATO Secretary General.
The transfer of duties takes place at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, as part of a meeting of the Atlantic Council, a political body of NATO that gathers the ambassadors of the member countries.
The meeting will be opened by 65-year-old Stoltenberg, and 57-year-old Rute will close it.
Today, Stoltenberg assessed that NATO is "in good hands" with the arrival of the former Dutch prime minister at the helm.
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