Klaus Iohannis has withdrawn his candidacy for the head of NATO

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis withdrew from the race for the next Secretary General of NATO, reported AFP.
Thus, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte remained the only candidate for the leadership position in the alliance.
Rutte, 57, is expected to be formally nominated by the 32 NATO nations in the coming days and take over when current chief Jens Stoltenberg's term expires on October 1.
Rutte's appointment will come at a delicate time for the alliance. Russia's war in Ukraine is dragging on, and Donald Trump is fighting to regain the US presidency in November.
After vying for the post last year, staunchly pro-Ukraine Rutte quickly won the support of the US, Britain, France and Germany.
However, he had to use all the diplomatic skills accumulated during the nearly 14-year rule of the Netherlands to win over the opponents of his appointment, led by Turkey and Hungary.
Rutte overcame Turkish resistance with a visit to Istanbul in April, and at an EU summit this week he finally struck a deal with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
The last point of contention remained Iohannis, whose surprise candidacy rattled allies who had hoped for a smooth appointment of Rutte ahead of the NATO summit in Washington in July.
On June 20, Romania's Security Council announced that Iohannis had officially stepped down and that the country was supporting Rutte. | BGNES