Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said he could support outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte for the post of NATO's secretary general - if certain conditions were met.
Rutte must apologize for "insulting remarks" he made against Hungary, Orbán said in an interview with the government-funded Mandiner news portal, which was published on Wednesday night.
Rutte must also also agree that Hungary does not have to participate in any NATO military missions directed against Russia in Ukraine, Orbán said.
But no one is calling for, planning or preparing such a military operation by the Western defence alliance. And while individual member states can carry out initiatives on their own, in these cases other members are not obliged to join in.
The mandate of the current NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg of Norway, expires in October. A unanimous vote is required in the 32-nation alliance to choose a successor. Currently, all members except Romania and Hungary support Rutte.
Romania currently has its own candidate for the top post in the form of President Klaus Iohannis, whose second term of office comes to an end in the autumn and who cannot run again.
"We support Romania," said Orbán in the interview with Mandiner.
His comments about the prerequisites for Rutte apparently applied in the event that Bucharest withdraws Iohannis' candidacy.
Hungary has been a member of NATO since 1999. Under Orbán, who has held power without interruption since 2010, the country is pursuing an increasingly Russia-friendly posture.