MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/. Installing a new NATO secretary general will not change the alliance's internal policies, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Radio Sputnik.

"Nothing will change in NATO with a new person coming in. No doctrinal documents will change," the diplomat said, commenting on reports about the change of the secretary general and possible changes in the bloc's policy. Zakharova explained that the NATO secretary general "is nominal in terms of his political influence."

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed at a press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington that the alliance is close to appointing a new secretary general. He called acting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte a strong candidate.

The Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) reported on June 18, citing sources, that Rutte will become the new NATO secretary general. According to them, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, who is Rutte's only rival, will withdraw his candidacy in the near future.