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NATO countries approve Rutte's candidacy for five-year term as Secretary General

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will replace Norway’s Jens Stoltenberg in October 2024

Mark Rutte AP Photo/ Armin Durgut

Mark Rutte

© AP Photo/ Armin Durgut

BRUSSELS, June 26. /TASS/. Ambassadors of 32 NATO countries have approved the candidacy of Mark Rutte, who lost the Dutch election for the post of prime minister, to serve as the alliance's chief for the next five years, the press service reported.

"On Wednesday [June 26], the North Atlantic Council decided to appoint Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the next Secretary General of NATO," the press service said after the ambassadors’ meeting in Brussels. Rutte will replace Norway’s Jens Stoltenberg in October 2024.

Stoltenberg has been NATO's chief for ten years, an absolute record. His five-year term has been extended four times for one year.

Commenting on Rutte’s appointment, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova pointed out that NATO countries, and the Secretary General in particular, do not make decisions in the alliance because the United States dominates the organization.

"In this structure, not even the member states decide anything, let alone the Secretary General. The Americans run everything," she said.

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