Romanian president left without allies in the battle for the leadership post in NATO

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis was left without the support of the allied countries of NATO for his candidacy for Secretary General of the Alliance.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Slovak President Peter Pellegrini have announced that their countries will support the candidacy of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

The current General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg is firmly convinced that the issue will be resolved in a short time.

"The alliance will soon decide who will be my successor," he said, quoted by EFE.

Mark Rutte confirmed that if he becomes the Secretary General of NATO, Hungary will not be forced to participate in the Alliance's activities in Ukraine. Therefore, "given this commitment, Hungary is ready to support it", declared Orbán, who held a conversation in Brussels with the acting Dutch Prime Minister on June 17.

In a letter sent to the Hungarian government, published by Orbán in Platform X, Rutte signaled that as NATO Secretary General he would treat "all parties with an equal level of understanding and respect", a reference to his previous criticism of the state of the rule of law in Hungary.

Before Orbán's publication, in which he announced his revised position on Rutte's candidacy, new Slovak President Peter Pellegrini announced that his party would support Rutte's candidacy. In return, he asked for support to ensure the air defense of Slovakia, which was left completely without protection of its air space, after the government, preceding the current one, led by Robert Fico, gave Ukraine the only S-300 anti-aircraft system it had. | BGNES