Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced, on Tuesday 18 June, that he would support his Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte, who has been tipped to become the next Secretary General of NATO, if the latter maintained the agreement reached with the current Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, on Budapest’s non-participation in the Alliance’s efforts to support Ukraine.
“I made a deal with Jens Stoltenberg a week before (see EUROPE 13430/16). The question is, is he [Mr Rutte] ready to support or not? As the next Secretary General if he is ready to support, he can come”, Mr Orbán told a group of journalists at the end of an informal meeting of European leaders.
Mr Rutte and Mr Orbán met on Monday on the sidelines of the meeting. “It was a good conversation”, said the Dutch Prime Minister. Explaining that he had discussed Mr Stoltenberg’s visit to Budapest, during which agreement had been reached on Hungary’s non-participation, Mr Rutte described it as a “good result. If I become General Secretary, it will be along my own lines”, he added. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant with Pauline Denys and Isalia Stieffatre)