The United States has issued indictments against several Russian oligarchs

Already the favorite to lead NATO, the Dutch prime minister has a strong ally: The United Kingdom on Thursday gave its public backing to Mark Rutte to succeed Jens Stoltenberg in the key post amid the war in Ukraine. The current Secretary-General was reappointed to his post for an additional year in the summer of 2023 due to disagreements over the new personality. The Norwegian led the organization for ten years, dominated by ever-escalating tensions with Russia.

After him, the name of the outgoing head of the Dutch government responsible for current affairs has been circulating for months. It now has official support “strong” A founding member of the Atlantic Alliance. “We want a strong candidate.”British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesman said. “Rutte is well-respected within the coalition, he has strong security and defense credentials, and he will ensure the coalition remains strong and ready to deliver security and deterrence.”He explained and congratulated “Leadership” By Jens Stoltenberg for nine years. It is not yet clear who the US is supporting.

A Liberal prime minister since 2010, he has announced his intention to leave the Dutch political scene, but will remain in office until a new government is formed. Negotiations have struggled since the far-right won the November elections. A regular attendee of European meetings, 57-year-old Mark Rutte has managed to establish relationships with many leaders. He also frequently met with former US President Donald Trump, whom he did not hesitate to publicly contradict during his visits to the White House.

One of the criteria set out in NATO is an adequate commitment to security in the candidate's country of origin. Member States have pledged to allocate 2% of their GDP to this, and the Netherlands is very close to this goal, especially as Mr. Thanks for Root's action. NATO diplomats argue that it is necessary to engage in the matter if Donald Trump returns as US president. The latter has repeatedly called on allies to increase their defense spending, or the US will either cut their spending or leave the alliance.

The Dutchman's supporters finally point out that he was aware of the Russian threat because he had to deal with the crisis caused by the shooting down of a Russian missile in 2014 – according to an international inquiry into the downing of a plane over Ukraine. 197 Death of Dutch subjects.