photo/ Armin Durgut
BRUSSELS, 26 June. /TASS/. Ambassadors of 32 NATO countries have endorsed the candidacy of Mark Rutte, who lost the Dutch election for the post of prime minister, to head the alliance for the next five years, the press service reported.
"The North Atlantic Council decided on Wednesday [26 June] to appoint Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the next Secretary General of NATO," the press service said after a meeting of ambassadors in Brussels. Rutte will replace Norwegian President Jens Stoltenberg in October 2024.
Stoltenberg has been the head of NATO for ten years, an absolute record. His five-year term has been extended by one year four times.
Commenting on Rutte's appointment, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova pointed out that NATO countries, and in particular the secretary-general, do not make decisions in the alliance because the United States dominates the organisation.
"In this structure, nothing is decided even by the member states, let alone by the Secretary-General. The Americans run everything," she said.
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