Slovakia backs Mark Rutte for NATO chief in exchange for air defense support

3 months ago 9

Slovakia will support the candidacy of the outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte for the position of NATO Secretary General, in exchange for assistance from the Netherlands in securing its air defense, President Peter Pellegrini announced on Tuesday (June 18) following the conclusion of an extraordinary European Council meeting.

Slovakia initially wanted a representative from Central and Eastern Europe, for the new top job, even Rutte’s rival for Secretary General, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, would have fit the bill. In the end, however, Bratislava opted for Rutte.

“After consultations with both candidates and discussions with the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and the Slovak government, Slovakia can imagine supporting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte for the head of the Alliance,” stated the new Slovak President Peter Pellegrini according to the news agency TASR.

To keep a balance between representatives from Western and Eastern states in the Alliance, Slovakia reminded Rutte to consider the geographical principle when filling NATO positions at lower management levels if he becomes the Secretary General.

Pellegrini noted that Slovakia’s support comes with a request to Rutte to ensure the protection of Slovak airspace.

Since the previous government handed over Slovakia’s old S-300 air defence systems to Ukraine, and after the Netherlands and Italy withdrew their temporarily provided systems from Slovakia, their airspace has been left partially unprotected.

“Today, Slovakia does not possess any air defense system, and that is why we discussed with Prime Minister Rutte that in case he is elected as the Alliance’s chief, he should strive to protect and defend the Slovak airspace – at least until Slovakia can protect it with its own capacities,” explained the president.

He added that Rutte expressed his willingness to address the issue in the future.

The news of Bratislava’s support for Rutte arrives on the same day as Dutch media, cited by Reuters, informed about a change in stance from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who was against Mark Rutte’s candidacy for NATO chief.

Dutch media reports now indicate that Budapest has allegedly dropped its objections after the outgoing Dutch Prime Minister met with Orbán, on the sidelines of an informal summit of EU member state leaders in Brussels.

[Edited by Charles Szumski, Rajnish Singh]