Government Ready to Support Mark Rutte as NATO Chief

MTI-Hungary Today 2024.06.19.

Hungary is ready to support the nomination of outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte for the post of NATO Secretary General. “We agreed that no Hungarian personnel will take part in the activities of NATO in Ukraine and no Hungarian funds will be used to support them,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wrote on X.

In his post, the Hungarian Prime Minister recalled that an important agreement had been reached with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg following last week’s European Parliament elections. Mark Rutte fully supports the agreement that no Hungarian personnel has to participate in NATO’s activities in Ukraine, and that no Hungarian funds will be used to support them, Mr. Orbán stated. He added that the next step this week was to ensure that this agreement would stand the test of time.

“After yesterday’s meeting in Brussels, PM Mark Rutte confirmed that he fully supports this deal and will continue to do so, should he become the next Secretary General of NATO.

In light of his pledge, Hungary is ready to support PM Rutte’s bid for NATO Secretary-General,“

the Prime Minister announced.

Following the recent European elections, where Hungarians voted in huge numbers in favour of #peace, we reached an important agreement with #NATO Secretary General @jensstoltenberg . We agreed that no Hungarian personnel will take part in the activities of NATO in Ukraine and no… pic.twitter.com/Cliu4rZGCE

— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) June 18, 2024

In Viktor Orbán’s post, Mark Rutte’ letter to the Hungarian Prime Minister can also be read. In his letter, he writes that he is aware of the outcome of the talks between Jens Stoltenberg and Orbán, and that he fully supports it. He concludes:

As discussed, I also took note that some remarks I made in 2021 as Prime Minister of the Netherlands have caused dissatisfaction in Hungary. My priority in a possible future capacity as NATO Secretary General will to be maintain unity and treat all Allies with the same level of understanding and respect.”

Fact

As Hungary Today reported, the Hungarian government did not support Mark Rute’s NATO chief candidacy previously, as he had been a vocal critic of Hungary in recent years. In 2021, he sharply criticized the Hungarian government. Speaking at an EU summit on a child protection bill that included LGBTQ people and was described as a “pedophile bill,” he said that Hungary should be brought to its knees to respect EU values. “They must recognize that either they are members of the European Union and thus share our values, or they must leave the Union,” the Dutch Prime Minister said at the time.

Viktor Orbán Reaches Agreement with NATO Secretary General on Operations in Ukraine

Hungary will not block any NATO initiative regarding Ukraine, but does not wish to participate in these efforts.Continue reading

Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Benko Vivien Cher