Klaus Iohannis and Mark Rutte try to keep quiet about their negotiations for the NATO leadership bid
Articol de Radiojurnal, 22 Martie 2024, 01:14
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte are trying to keep a low profile in the negotiations for their NATO leadership candidacy.
Both attended the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, the first meeting between the two since the Romanian official publicly announced his candidacy for NATO head.
Mark Rutte is another name for the same job and enjoys the backing of some heavyweight NATO allies.
Romania's president says his North Atlantic Alliance decalogue has been well received by NATO's bilateral discussion partners, but he declined to name the states that would be willing to back it.
On the other hand, Klaus Iohannis says there are some differences between him and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who expressed interest in the same post in autumn and has the support of several heavyweight allies, such as the United States.
Klaus Iohannis: I think we differ in geography, history and certainly there are some issues where our approaches are both very constructive, but slightly different in terms of the future of NATO.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte wouldn't give any details about either man's chances at NATO leadership. He says he has known President Iohannis for 10 years, works very well with him and is a credible leader of Romania.
Slovenia's prime minister is "looking very seriously" at the situation after Klaus Iohannis announced his candidacy for NATO leadership
Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob says his country expressed support for Mark Rutte's candidacy a month ago, but now, with Klaus Iohannis' announcement, he is taking a very serious look at the new situation. And this, he adds, especially in view of Klaus Iohannis' proposals and references to NATO and the situation in the region. Slovenia, concludes the Slovenian Prime Minister, will ultimately support the candidate with the best chances and for the moment this is Mark Rutte, but we have to weigh very carefully what will happen in the next 2-3 weeks.
Translated by: Radu Matei
