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Candidacy of next NATO secretary general to be negotiated before July summit — US envoy

The Secretary General’s office is challenged by Acting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and President of Romania Klaus Iohannis

WASHINGTON, June 12. /TASS/. NATO member states will be able to negotiate the candidacy of Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s successor before the summit that will take place between July 9 and 11 in Washington, US Permanent Representative to NATO Julianne Smith said during a briefing.

"Yes, I am absolutely confident that NATO Allies will be able to agree on Jens Stoltenberg’s successor by the time we get to the summit. This has been a topic of conversation across the Alliance for quite some time now. It is a decision that needs to be taken by consensus. We have reached a point where increasingly we’re seeing some momentum on this particular issue, and so I am very confident that we will have an announcement to make by the time we get to the summit in July in just a few weeks’ time," Smith underscored.

The Secretary General’s office is challenged by Acting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and President of Romania Klaus Iohannis. According to the Dutch media, Rutte’s candidacy is currently endorsed by 29 out of 32 NATO member states, including the US. Hungary, Romania and Slovakia oppose his candidacy.

Previously, Stoltenberg noted that he will remain in office until October 1, 2024. This decision was approved during the NATO summit in Vilnius on Julye 11-12 last year. According to numerous media, Stoltenberg’s service was prolonged due to the difficulties with deciding on his successor’s candidacy. A NATO Secretary General is appointed via consensus among member states.

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