By Tamas Csonka in Budapest
Former Dutch premier Mark Rutte will succeed Jens Stoltenberg to become the next secretary-general of Nato after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban dropped his opposition and Slovakia also signalled its support, Dutch national broadcaster NOS reported on June 19.
Orban posted on X platform saying Hungary is ready for Rutte's bid after he pledged to uphold an agreement on Hungary's non-participation in Nato support for Ukraine.
Orban noted that Hungary had reached an agreement a week earlier with Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, under which the country would not participate in the Nato support for Ukraine with troops or financing.
Stoltenberg visited Budapest three days after the EP elections, where the two sides agreed that Hungary would not block Nato decisions on providing support for Ukraine
Hungary’s leader met with his Dutch peer in Brussels on Monday ahead of the informal summit of the EU, where Rutte confirmed that he fully supports that agreement.
'Our next step this week was to ensure that this agreement can stand the test of time', he tweeted.
According to the Hungarian prime minister, he was offered assurances that the new Nato chief’s aim was to 'treat all allies with the same level of understanding'.
Orban initially supported Romanian president Klaus Iohannis for the post as his relations with his Dutch counterpart has been fraught with tensions.
Rutte has been a vocal critic of Orbán's government regarding the rule of law and democratic values. The Dutch premier has expressed concerns about the erosion of democratic institutions and judicial independence in Hungary, among with other issues under Orbans leadership.
Orban had previously demanded an apology for Rutte's remarks but the former Dutch premier merely noted the issue on June 18, “As discussed, I also took note that some remarks I made in 2021 as Prime Minister of the Netherlands has caused dissatisfaction in Hungary,” Rutte wrote.
