By Janet Ekstract NEW YORK -On June 26, a new NATO chief, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was chosen – Rutte will take over the post on October 1 when current NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg steps down after a decade at the helm. As Stoltenberg commented on social media: “I warmly welcome NATO Allies’ choice of Mark Rutte as my successor. Mark is a true transatlantacist, a strong leader and a consensus-builder.” Rutte who has been prime minister of the Netherlands for 14-years, soon to end his tenure is viewed by NATO members and analysts as a highly experienced and strong leader for NATO. Rutte will be inheriting the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia as well as the possibility of a return to the White House with Donald Trump who is known for his animosity toward NATO.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his congratulations to Rutte via telephone, according to Turkiye’s Communications Directorate. The Turkish Foreign Ministry also said: “We also express our gratitude to Secretary-General Stoltenberg for his successful leadership since 2014.” Turkiye’s role in NATO is particularly significant since Turkiye possesses the second-largest army in NATO and was instrumental in Rutte’s appointment as secretary-general. Erdogan told reporters that he will meet Rutte at the upcoming NATO Summit in Washington D.C. in July and that Rutte will visit Turkiye. Diplomatic sources explained that Turkiye has three major expectations from the new NATO secretary-general: additional support and solidarity from allied countries in combating terrorism in Turkiye; Turkiye would like Rutte to support NATO allies to lift all restrictions and sanctions on arms sales to Turkiye and finally the status of non-EU members of NATO within the context of NATO-EU cooperation mechanisms. Meanwhile, Rutte is expected to formally lead the NATO Summit in D.C. July 9-11, on the occasion of NATO’s 75th anniversary
