Estonia ready to support Rutte for NATO Secretary General

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has said that her country is ready to support Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte for the post of the next NATO Secretary General, although she has repeatedly expressed her reservations.

Kallas's position was quoted by the Estonian broadcaster ERR.

According to the prime minister, the Estonian government has met with candidates for secretary-general Mark Rutte and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and is ultimately ready to support both of them, depending on which of them receives the support of the majority of NATO allies.

Although the Netherlands does not meet the NATO target of 2% of defense spending, Callas believes that Rutte's strength lies in his ability to compromise.

"We talked about our concerns. We said that we think it is wrong that there is no one from our region in high positions in the Alliance.

We also expressed our concern about the two percent - we talked to Rutte about how he could convince other heads of state of this. We are indeed ready to support both candidates," said Kallas.

Author - Olena Madiak, 27/03/2024