NATO’s 32 member states have named Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as their next Secretary General, at a crucial moment for the alliance as Russia continues its war in Ukraine. Rutte, 57, will take over as NATO chief on October 1, replacing Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, who held the position for ten years.
«It is a great honor to be appointed Secretary General of NATO. The Alliance is and will remain the cornerstone of our collective security. Leading this organization is a responsibility I do not take lightly. I am grateful to all allies for placing their trust in me. I look forward to taking up the role with great vigor in October, as successor to Jens Stoltenberg, who has provided NATO with exceptional leadership over the last 10 years and for whom I have always had great admiration.” He writes it on X Mark Rutte.
Moscow: “With Rutte at NATO, it’s unlikely anything will change”
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the decision to appoint Mark Rutte as head of NATO “can hardly change anything in the general line” of the alliance “and its member states.” “Both as independent member states under the direct leadership of the United States and together as an alliance they are working to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia,” Peskov added, stressing that “at this moment” NATO “is hostile” to Moscow.
Zelensky congratulates Rutte: ‘Strong leader’
Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky congratulates Mark Rutte on his nomination as NATO Secretary General on X, calling him “a strong and principled leader” who “has demonstrated his resolve and vision on many occasions in recent years.” Zelensky also thanks outgoing Jens Stoltenberg “for his remarkable contribution to strengthening NATO during his ten-year term and for his unwavering support for Ukraine’s struggle for freedom.”